For the Time Being
by HinnyandRomione4ever
Summary: Life after the battle can be hard. Harry gets hit the hardest. Journey through life with Harry as he faces depression, love, recovery, loss. The first story of my nineteen years series. That series will make it to the epilogue of Jk Rowling. Thank you for reading.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N This is my first fanfiction. I have read a ton before and I really want to try one. All the characters and early story line belongs to the talented JK Rowling. Please instructive critics only! :)**

* * *

**He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named KILLED **

We at the Daily Prophet are happy to announce that, finally, the reign of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is over. Only two days ago, a battle sprung out at Hogwarts School of Witch Craft and Wizardry. But who was the one to end You-Know-Who's terror? No one other than the Chosen One himself, Harry Potter! After being on the run for six months, along with his two accomplices Ronald Billius Weasley and Hermione Jean Granger, Potter returned to Hogwarts in search of something. That something has not been revealed to the press. _"Harry Potter will not answer any questions that he doesn't want announced to the public"_, says the Order of the Pheonix leader, Kingsley Shacklebolt. His words are not lies either. Harry James Potter has not answered any questions from any reporters. Yet he has made one statement, _"Voldemort is gone. Isn't that all that matters?" _Our answer is in some ways yes, but many want to know the facts on what Potter and others did during the time on the run.

As for the Battle of Hogwarts, there have been over 1,000 casualties and many more injuries. The castle of the school has almost been destroyed completely. Auror investigators are right now overseeing the damage and are assigning volunteers to rebuild the castle as we report. Few of those volunteers being the Golden Trio themselves, Harry James Potter, Hermione Jean Granger, and Ronald Billius Weasley. Our Gratitude goes to all witches and wizards who fought during the battle and we hope for a better tomorrow! More reports soon.

* * *

Harry smirked as he read the article. _For once something sensible reported by the Daily Prophet _he thought to himself. Yes, he finally killed Voldemort yet why was everyone giving him all the credit. In all honesty, he didn't want any credit. He wanted killing Voldemort to be the first step to normality. Yet it wasn't going to be. He was going to live his life now not being known as just The Boy Who Lived or The Chosen One. Now when people see him on the street, he now was going to be The Vanquisher of the Dark Lord, The Boy Who Lived Twice and any other stupid title they could put together. He was glad that they were acknowledging Hermione and Ron, but what about Neville, or Snape, or Dumbledore? What about the Order of the Pheonix? What about the Weasleys? _The Weasleys. _The name rang in his head. The family who took him in as one of their own, the family who showed him love, the family he caused so much pain. He couldn't help but feel guilty. They trusted him and in return he caused one of their sons, brothers, friends to die. Last time he talked to any one of them was after the battle. And it was Ron. Just a mere "see you later."

Yet there he sat in 12 Grimmauld Place wallowing away in guilt. He already received four owls for him, inviting him to join them for dinners. But he couldn't face them. He couldn't look across the table to see an empty chair for Fred, or see the look in their eyes as they see only five Weasley boys at the table. No. He just threw the letters in the fireplace, or crumpled them up before throwing them away. Yet the Weasleys weren't the only people he was avoiding. He couldn't look at Hermione anymore. And she was considered his sister. Family. Not including the four letters from the Weasleys, he had even more from Hermione. More than one going like this.

* * *

_Dear Harry,_

_Please read this letter with some sort of composure. You have not spoken to any of us since you left Hogwarts. We can't help but worry. Harry please, whenever you can, just talk to us. None of us blame you, none of us are mad at you, for the most part. I say this because every hour you don't reply, Ginny can't help but grow angrier. She still loves you. She still wants you to call her your own. Actually she wants to call you her own. Harry please, come to the Burrow. If you feel so guilty about everything and you want to make it up. Then do us this one favor and just show us that your there, healthy, happy and alive. _

_Please write back,_

_Hermione_

* * *

Harry scanned through and shook his head. No. Not in a million years will he just waltz into the Burrow and act happy in front of them. Like Umbridge scarred his hand with. HE WASN'T GOING TO TELL LIES. Many times, Harry took out a piece of parchment and a quill to write a reply saying why he couldn't. But every time he tried one word would be written and one word only. Sorry. That one word meant so many things. Sorry about Fred, sorry I can't come, sorry I can't face you, sorry for leaving you Ginny.

"Master Harry." Kreacher entered the study and interrupted his thoughts.

"Yes Kreacher?" Harry looked up from the desk filled with letters and newspapers.

"There is a girl at the door, wanting to know of Master Harry's whereabouts."

"What's her name?" Harry asked with more annoyance than interest.

"Kreacher believes that the girl is called Hermione."

"Tell her I'm asleep and need some rest."

"Kreacher will do as Master Harry wishes." And with that Kreacher left the study. Harry got up from his desk and closed the door behind Kreacher. With whatever happens he was not going to let Hermione find him. He locked the door and returned to his desk hoping that Hermione will take his excuse and leave.

"Kreacher has returned with news for ." Kreacher said as he walked toward Hermione.

"Where is he?" Hermione replied hoping he was going to approach her any second now.

"Master Harry is not feeling well. Master Harry is sleeping right now."

"As much as I doubt that's true. I'll accept it. Just tell him that I need to speak with him please?"

"Yes ." Kreacher opened the door for her and with that she left. Easier than expected.

Harry couldn't stand it anymore. He had to leave this house soon. Then he came up with an idea on how to ease his pain.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Chapter 2, still all characters belong to the talented JK Rowling, Instructive critics only! :)**

"Kreacher! I'm going out to a muggle pub. If anyone else comes by tell them what you told Hermione. Hopefully they'll accept it like she did." He said as he grabbed his jacket from the coat rack.

"Yes Master." He nodded then apparated out of 12 Grimmauld Place.

Harry ended up in a small alley way somewhere in the middle of London. As he walked down the street he felt as though someone was watching him. He shook off the feeling as he reached the pub. _Maybe some random witch or wizard who happens to be in muggle London, _he thought to himself, _yet what's the chance of that. _He entered the pub and sat down at the bar.

"Hello what can I do for you?" asked the pudgy, brown haired bartender.

"Anything that's strong and can get you to stop feeling like garbage."

"Alright, just one minute." The bartender replied, turning around to find the perfect booze. In about two minutes the bartender returned with Harry's drink. Harry drank it down in a few large gulps and asked for a second one. Then again and again and again, booze kept disappearing and glasses kept getting refilled. Soon enough, Harry was just flat out drunk with all his feeling gone. Harry left the pub and walked down the street. The night sky was lighter than it had been when Voldemort was alive. Thank goodness. And the commoners on the street seemed more relaxed than before. Which wasn't a bad thing and made him feel even more at ease.

Right when Harry was about to turn down the alley way he apparated from just two hours ago, a bright red sign caught his vision. The words spelled out 'CONVIENIENCE STORE'. And before Harry knew it, he was in the store looking around. As he walked around the store nothing special caught his eye. Until he reached the counter. Behind the counter were different brands of cigarettes. Ones with bright red letters, ones with yellow packages, and more. Without thinking of the consequences Harry bought one. He didn't care what brand, he just needed something to take his pain away. He gave the cashier a subtle nod then returned to 12 Grimmauld Place.

The next day he woke up with an excruciating pain in his head. Then soon the memories of the pub and the store arrived. If this is how every morning was going to feel than maybe he should cut down. Yet when he was drunk he felt nothing so maybe the morning was worth it. As he walked down the stairwell, he remembered the small package of cigarettes he bought just last night. _Maybe they'll take the pain away. _He reached the kitchen where Kreacher was preparing breakfast and tea. His eyes traveled across the room to the small package sitting on the table. _Worth a try_ he thought to himself as he grabbed the package and made his way out to the back porch.

He quickly opened the package and took one out. He knew how to smoke. He saw his Uncle Vernon do it all the time when he was younger. He lit the cigarette with his wand and started to smoke. Every puff became better than the last. Until a bright white light flashed before his eyes. It only lasted a second but he knew it happened. He looked around and saw nothing. Just the normal outside that anyone else would see. It must have been nothing. The day went relatively fast; he smoked the last of the pack, he went to sleep only being disturbed for meals, then returned to the pub and got drunk again. After he came home he started up the stairs to go to bed. Yet when he laid there in his bed something kept distracting him. It was a brown book that sat on top of his dresser. Harry got up and made his way towards it. When he opened the book he saw a picture of him. It wasn't just a picture, it was a picture of him with two people. The very same people he was avoiding, Ron and Hermione. They were there. Standing next to him. Laughing with him, he looked happy. The picture was taken at the end of his first year. He was so young, so innocent and so unaware of what he was going to do in his future. Harry slammed the book closed with disgust. If that little boy saw who he was now, a drunken prat, what would he do? It didn't matter to him any more. The path he chose was the path he chose. He was in a hole and digging himself in deeper. And there was nothing he could do about it.

The next morning Harry woke up with yet, another hangover. But he didn't care, because he had bought another pack of cigarettes and was planning on repeating everything he did yesterday. Once he made it downstairs and in the kitchen, he noticed the Daily Prophet on the table. This time something felt wrong about it.

* * *

**Drowning in Excitement or Guilt?**

We all know about what happened a little under a week ago. The Chosen One vanquished the Dark Lord. Yet is he celebrating? Little does young Harry Potter know, we have reporters watching him everywhere he goes. _"Yesterday I found Harry Potter in muggle London, walking the streets alone. I decided something juicy must be happening in his life right now," _reported a new rookie reporter, _"As I followed him down the street, I notice there was something rather odd about his behavior and appearance. He looked not put together and seemed very down. His shoulders were slumped and he was wearing a very unreadable expression. Then he arrived at a little pub. I went in after him, of course, to see what he was going to be doing in there. He sat himself at the bar and ordered a drink. Yet he didn't have a name of what he wanted but, a description. 'Something strong and stops you from feeling like garbage.' Is what he ordered. Many will think he ordered just one. But I counted around eleven drinks were sold to him. After that he left the pub and entered a little drug store at the end of the street. And again I went in after him. He bought one pack of cigarettes (something to smoke with) and returned home." _With this report in we waited around young Potter's house to see if we can find out why he bought those specific items. At around twelve pm, Harry Pottercame out onto his back porch. He smoked the entire pack of cigarettes! He seemed a little depressed and moody so we took a quick picture and left. Picture attached above. So is the Savior of The Wizarding World happy or depressed? You judge. More reports soon.

* * *

He wondered his eyes up the paper to see the alleged photo of him smoking. And there he was leaning over his back porch railing smoking his cigarette. _Now I got another reason that the Weasleys will be on my backside, _he thought to himself.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: All characters belong to Jk Rowling. enjoy :)**

The Burrow seemed quiet these last few weeks. Everyone seemed to be mourning the loss of Fred. Yet everyone smiled for each other's sakes. Ginny made her way down the stairwell of her home. It seemed she was the last one to wake up this morning. But that wasn't a surprise to her. She stayed awake until around two o'clock thinking and worrying about Harry. It seemed she had done that a lot lately. She hadn't spoken to him since he arrived at Hogwarts before the battle. Once she made it downstairs everyone seemed to be wearing a very worrying expression while staring at a copy of the Daily Prophet.

"What's wrong?" she asked, interrupting the silence that seemed to be there.

"Um, Ginny. Maybe you should see for your self." Replied Ron. He almost seemed nervous when he handed the paper to her. She grabbed it cautiously; afraid of what she might see on the front page. She closed her eyes and counted to three in her head. Then finally looked at the paper. There he was. Harry Potter on the front of the paper for the second time this week. _Wait a minute _she thought to herself as she saw something in his hand. She scanned the article to see what it was.

"No, tell me that it's not true!" she yelled at her family. But they only nodded. It couldn't be true. Harry would never sink that low. But he did and that's what killed her inside the most.

"Ginny please, listen to me. Harry hasn't spoken to anyone since he left Hogwarts. When I went to see if he was home or not, Kreacher told me he wasn't feeling well and that he was asleep. I know Kreacher was just saying what Harry told him to because I heard him close the door after Kreacher was already downstairs with me. Harry won't respond to any of our letters and he won't respond to a mere visit from me. I think you should go and see him." Hermione told Ginny in a voice of reason. She almost seemed apprehensive when she spoke. Like she wanted to make sure Ginny heard every word she said. Ginny heard her loud and clear. She ran up to her room and got dressed as quickly as possible and quickly put on some make up to look presentable. She returned to the kitchen where Hermione had her coat on and pecked Ron goodbye. She held out her arm for Ginny to grab. They both apparated to the front of 12 Grimmauld Place.

Harry was on the back porch smoking his third cigarette today. They may of tasted nasty but at least after a while he started to feel better. He had noticed Kreacher was getting worried about him. He started not eating as much as he used to and he seemed to spend his days on the porch. Especially since that stupid article came out about him. Then there was a knock at the door.

"Kreacher, do you mind getting that? And tell them I'm out for the day and you don't know when I'm coming back."

"Yes Master." Kreacher walked hesitantly to the door. He didn't want to follow Master Harry's orders. He wanted to have someone talk some sense into him and get him out of this trance of his. Kreacher answered the door to two girls. Both familiar to him and both wearing determined expressions on their face.

"Kreacher, um, hi. Where's Harry?" Said the redheaded girl. _What is her name? She stayed here twice, um Jenny, no, um…GINNY! _

"I'm sorry but Master Harry is not here." Kreacher said mentally cursing himself for what he said.

"I hardly believe that's true. I know that he only leaves to go get drunk or buy more cigarettes." Replied the girl with the bushy hair. Kreacher thought for a second, _she visited the other day, and she knew Kreacher was lying. What should Kreacher do? _

" does not believe Kreacher? Well Kreacher can't say he believes himself." Replied Kreacher hoping she'd understand what he meant by that. Than an expression of understanding met Hermione's face.

"Well if he was here. Where would he be?" Hermione asked slyly. Knowing Kreacher was trying to bend the orders Harry told him.

"Well Kreacher knows that Master Harry would be on the back porch. Using up the miserable items Master buys at store." Kreacher said opening the door widely to let them in.

And with that Hermione and Ginny rushed into the house of the drunken prat. They got into the kitchen where the door to the back porch was, and stopped. Hermione turned to look at Ginny and gave her a reassuring look. Ginny nodded then slowly walked toward the door. She slowly opened it and saw Harry leaning up against railing with his back towards her. It was reported to be around 50 degrees outside today and he wasn't wearing a jacket. A puff of smoke blew out in front of him. She knew exactly what that meant. It meant he was indeed smoking. That barmy article wasn't lying.

"Harry." Ginny said in a calm and collected yet strong voice. She was surprised to see him not even budge. He didn't jump at her voice yet didn't turn around. All he did was let out another puff of smoke. She waited a moment for a response but none came.

"Harry please. Turn around." Ginny said in the same voice hoping that he would listen to her. But he didn't he just let out another puff of smoke and stayed silent.

"Harry if you're not going to turn around than just listen," she said with tears in her eyes and continued, "Harry, you are really amazing sometimes. We all knew you were going to feel guilty after the battle, but this is just ridiculous. Harry, the silent treatment isn't going to get you far. And let me tell you, these cigarettes and pub visits aren't either. I don't know if you know, but there's an article about you in the Daily Prophet. It's just sickening to know you, of all people, are doing this to yourself." He sat there silent, puffing out smoke but this time he dropped his head. _It's a start, _she thought to herself. "Harry, you killed Voldemort if anything you should be happy. But I know what your thinking….You're thinking that you're the reason why Fred died, why Tonks and Remus died, why Colin died, why George lost his ear, why Teddy is an orphan and why Hogwarts is destroyed. But let me tell you that it's not true. Everyone fought at their own risk. Everyone fought for what they believed in and it wasn't just because they liked you or your opinions. They fought because they liked their opinions and their own thoughts about life without Voldemort and they were willing to give up everything for it."

Harry shook his head and looked up at the sky. Ginny knew what she was saying to him was hitting a nerve but maybe that's what he needed. Maybe he needed someone to tell him something he needed to hear. Or maybe he just needed to hear it from her.

"Harry I'm happy to see you can do more than just smoke at the moment. I don't care if you don't love me anymore or if you really just hate me right now. But I'm not going to let you sit around here and mope all day long. Kreacher is even worried about you and let me tell you, to get emotion out of him, wow!" At this she heard him giggle. It was very subtle and short but he giggled. "Its great to know that maybe some Harry is still in there…I know you are going a tough time and everything. But we're your family and we need to know your okay. Harry, please come back with Hermione and me to the Burrow. You don't have to talk to anyone. You can simply just nod or shake your head to anyone but please just at least show yourself." Ginny waited a moment to see what he was going to do.

"I don't know." He said looking into the distance. _HE TALKED, HE SAID THREE WORDS, three depressing words but WORDS! _She thought to herself.

"You don't know what?" She said with emotion filling in her eyes.

"I don't know if I can do it, if I can face them. I don't know if I can do anything anymore…except maybe smoke and order drinks." He said staring at the cigarette in his hand.

"Well you won't know until you try, right? And don't worry about this whole drinking and smoking thing, I'm sure we can teach you more, maybe something like teaching you how to stop." She said tilting he head, he still hadn't turned around and she hadn't moved from where she was standing, behind him not seeing his face. "I can tell you the first step. Turn around." She continued with a hopeful voice. Harry paused for a moment. He took one more look at the cigarette in his hand and winced. Maybe he should listen to her. He slowly turned around with a guilty expression on his face. She stood there for a second, completely shocked. She didn't think he would actually turn around.

"What now?" He said with an expressionless face.

"Now you're going to change and wash up. Brush your teeth then meet Hermione and I in the kitchen. Okay?" He nodded he knew that she was probably disgusted and disappointed in his appearance let alone his behavior but it seemed she wasn't going to show it in her face. They both walked into the kitchen. Hermione was in there with her back towards them. She seemed to be admiring something that was in the china cabinet. She tried so hard not to turn around until she knew that Harry looked ok.

"Be ready in ten minutes so we can get back to the Burrow in time." Ginny said looking at her wrist watch. Harry left and started going up the stairwell to the bathroom. Hermione turned to face Ginny. Ginny was smiling; she was successful.

"So what happened?" Hermione asked enthusiastically, obviously something happened to make Harry actually listen to Ginny. "Don't tell me you Confunded him."

"What? No! I just told him what he needed to hear. And I told him that he didn't have to talk to anyone else but me when we got there. So please don't be offended if he doesn't talk to you." Hermione shrugged. She understood that it was going to take time for Harry to become himself again. "Can you apparate to the Burrow and tell them that, then come back before Harry is ready?" Hermione nodded it was obvious they all needed to know why Harry won't talk to them. With that thought in mind she apparated back to the Burrow.

Ginny's eyes wondered around Grimmauld Place. There were so many memories of hers in this disgusting house. She remembered Sirius's mother screaming every bloody day, and she remembered her mother always nagging her to help clean up the cobwebs and mold that grew in the corners. Ginny left the kitchen and went into the first door she found, it was a closet usually used to put coats in but, no, Harry seemed to find it convenient to store booze in it. _I'll have to talk to him about that_ she thought out loud. Then she slowly went up the stairs, happy to hear the sound of the shower running. She approached the study that she cleaned nearly three years ago. It seemed to have been used recently. She made her way towards the desk and found a pile of two copies of the Daily Prophet. Both in which Harry was featured on the front page. Then a letter from Hermione on the top. Ginny looked around to make sure no one saw her. She read it. She was almost at the verge of tears when Hermione talked about her. And how she wanted Harry to be hers again. The thing was it was absolutely true. She set the letter down where it was. Then a parchment caught her eye. It had a quill across it covering up what words were written on the page. She moved the quill off the parchment and read the word. _Sorry. _Ginny Weasley never cried, but now this made her burse into tears. It was the closest thing to feelings Harry had left. It showed that he was still the Harry she knew; that that drunken prat that was in his body still had feelings. Ginny quickly put everything back where it was and headed back to the kitchen to find Hermione already there.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked with a worrying voice.

"Nothing. Just… I saw his response to your letter. A response that he never sent back to you." She responded with a little bit of emotion still in her voice. She didn't want Hermione to know she was crying just a minute ago. But her red eyes gave it away. Hermione gave her a half smile.

"Do you want to tell me what he said?" Hermione asked in a hopeful tone that maybe it was going to make her feel better than she already did.

"It said Sorry. I don't know what he meant by 'Sorry' but to me it means he still is Harry James Potter, the one we used to know." Ginny said smiling. Hermione nodded. She couldn't see what was so grand about a simple response as sorry. But she could tell that it meant a lot to Ginny. So she just put on a sympathy smile for her sake. Then, with in seconds, the two girls heard footsteps coming down the stairs. It was Harry.

"Ready?" Ginny asked in a calm voice which was a really good cover up than the voice she used with Hermione. The voice with Hermione was an emotional voice; with Harry was a strong voice like nothing happened. Harry nodded in response and gave a half, absent minded smile to them. Hermione Grabbed Ginny's arm and let out an arm for Harry to grab.

Harry hesitated. _Am I really ready for this? _He asked himself, _well do I really have a choice. _He took hold of Hermione's arm and apparated to the Burrow. There he was standing in front of the Burrow. A place where, he swore to himself not only two days ago, that he would not see again. He let go of Hermione's arm and Hermione let go of Ginny. They started walking towards the front door yet Harry stood still taking in what was left of his dignity.


	4. Chapter 4

Ginny opened the door and stepped inside, followed by Hermione then Harry. They rubbed their feet on the door mat then hung their jackets on the coat rack. And made their way to the kitchen. Ginny stopped and turned and noticed Harry, who seemed to be shell shocked and paralyzed hadn't moved. She walked back to him and linked her arm with his.

"Remember just nod and shake your head until you feel ready." She said giving him a reassuring look. They made their way to the kitchen, where everyone else was.

"HARRY!" Molly said opening her arms. "I'm so happy you could join us!" She continued while giving him one of her infamous bone-crushing hugs. She drew back to look at him. He nodded his head with a half smile planted on his face. "You're a bit peaky, what has Kreacher been feeding you?" Harry shrugged not wanting to answer that question. "Well tonight I'm going to make sure your well fed."

"Hey Harry. Seems like it has been ages, mate." Ron said as he approached Harry. "Where have you been?" Harry just shrugged again a question he didn't want to answer.

"Well look what Merlin brought to us!" said George as he ruffled Harry's hair. He winced, not that he really cared but messing with his hair caught him off guard.

"George stop it!" Molly said sternly, scowling at the action George just performed.

"What? I was just fixing his hair. That's not a crime, mum!"

"Harry Potter," Arthur said smiling at Harry's presence, "Mind if I have a word?" Harry shook his head. He loved like a father and knew that 's intensions were to help him, not hurt him. led Harry into the living room, away from everyone else. "So Harry how have you been?" Harry just shrugged because to be honest, he had no clue. nodded and sighed. He knew Harry was unsure of himself and he didn't expect nothing but. "Well that's okay. I just wanted to give you some news from the new minister." Harry looked at emotionless. He didn't care what the new minister had in store for Harry and quite frankly he didn't feel like being asked to be a poster boy again. "Do you know who the new minister is?" Harry shook his head "Well its none other than our own, Kingsley Shacklebolt!" At this Harry couldn't help but smile. The first real smile he had in a while. Not since Ron returned while on the run. "Yes, I see that finally I'm not the only one excited for a decent minister. Anyway Minister Shacklebolt wants to meet with you about your banking situation." Harry nodded. "Alright lets return to dinner." Harry and returned back to the kitchen. Everyone hadn't eaten yet. That being said Ron seemed pretty enthusiastic with their return, so he could eat.

"Alright, Lets have a toast! For our first real dinner that everyone is here for. Yes, I know Fred isn't here. But to me he is, he is with us right now. So lets enjoy the food that we have and enjoy the time that we finally have together since our little absentee has agreed to show himself" Molly finished smirking at Harry. This made Harry feel warm inside. Maybe they did care about him. Maybe it wasn't his fault. Maybe he can get out of this. Everyone dug into the feast made for them. Ron and Charlie seemed to be having an eating contest while Ginny and Hermione looked at them with disgust. Harry watched as Ron gave Hermione apologetic looks every time he noticed her staring at him. He didn't know what was going on with them since they kissed during the battle, are they a couple now? Soon the suspense was killing Harry way too much. He hadn't spoken all night and he knew they were waiting for him to talk.

"So what's going on with you two?" He finally said in a questioning voice. Everyone went pale; He talked in front of everyone. The only ones who didn't go pale was Hermione and Ron who actually went extremely red.

"What about us?" Hermione asked like it was no big deal.

"Well last time I checked you kissed during the battle and you were holding hands. Now, I haven't even heard one word being said to each other." This time it was Ron's turn to talk. He was already ecstatic that his best mate was talking again but to be honest he didn't know what was happening with him and Hermione.

"Well I don't mate…"

"And I thought you two had finally come to your senses." Everyone laughed; except the two in question.

"WELL WHAT ABOUT YOU TWO!?" Ron said trying to get the topic off him and Hermione.

"Me and who?" Harry asked trying to act oblivious in front of the other Weasley brothers who didn't know about the romance between Ginny and him.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'ME AND WHO' YOU GUYS WERE THE ONES WHO DATED FOR SIX WEEKS LAST YEAR!" Ron seemed to be now enraged with what Harry said.

"Last time I checked you yelled at me saying I wasn't allowed to see your sister again." Harry said back with a little tenderness to his voice. And he made a statement.

"Wait a minute you two dated last year?" Bill asked with a disgusted look.

"Like Boyfriend, Girlfriend?" Charlie asked a little more appalled than Bill.

"Like, Harry likes Ginny back?" George asked completely surprised. Mr. and seemed to just as surprised about Ginny dating as George.

"Wait Ginny's too young to date, right?" Percy asked looking at his mum and dad.

"Perce, she's sixteen. And yes they dated. Why else would I use that sentence?" Ron replied forgetting about how the rest of the family were completely oblivious to that fact.

"WAIT A MINUTE, YOU TOLD HARRY HE COULD NEVER SEE ME AGAIN?" Ginny asked completely taken back and ready to bat-bogey hex the daylights out of Ron.

"Well he broke up with you at our own headmaster's funeral, then kissed you before leaving for six months! He broke your heart!" Ron said trying to sound reasonable but failing.

"YOU COMPLETE PRAT! HARRY BROKE UP WITH ME TO PROTECT ME! HE DID IT SO VOLDEMORT WOULDN'T GO AFTER ME AND USE ME AS A WEAPON! WE WERE PLANNING ON GETTING BACK TOGETHER WHEN HE WAS GONE! YET YOU SEEMED TO FIND A WAY TO SCREW THAT UP NOW HAVEN'T YOU!" Ginny started turning red with anger. _Oh Ron's dead _is all anyone could think.

"I'm sorry! Actually if Harry told me that maybe I wouldn't of forbade him!"

"Actually I couldn't get a word in with you yelling at me!" Harry said trying to put his two cents in.

"YOU CAN'T JUST DO THAT RON! YOU DON'T OWN ME OR HARRY! WE CAN DO WHATEVER THE HELL WE WANT AND YOU CAN'T BLOODY STOP US!" Ginny yelled before running up to her room.

"RONALD WEASLEY! You made your sister cry!" Molly said with more anger than Ginny had. "And also you don't have the authority to choose who Ginny dates and doesn't date! That is for her to decide not anyone else!"

"Well isn't it up to Harry too? He is the mental one in liking. That's why I asked him! They might not be a couple anymore!" He said turning to Harry for support. But Harry wasn't giving him any.

"Ron I can tell Harry feels other wise. Now go and apologize to your sister this instant!"

"Fine!" Ron got up and left the family to go and clear the air with his sister.

"I still don't understand! Is Harry and Ginny a couple?" Charlie asked completely confused as to what just happened.

"Well they were last year. They were so cute together. Like once we all were sitting by the fire in Gryffindor Common Room and Ginny was reading the Daily Prophet. And she said 'Three dementor attacks in a week, and all Romilda Vane does is ask me if it's true Harry has a hippogriff tattooed across your chest.' And Harry goes, 'What did you tell her?' and Ginny goes, 'I told her it was a Hungarian Horntail, much more macho'" Hermione laughed then looked at Harry. Harry was scowling at her. If looks could kill Hermione would be dead. She stopped laughing as soon as she got the message.

"Wait Ginny has seen Harry's chest?" Bill asked even more disgusted than before

"No, no, no, Ginny was just saying that to gross Ron out!" Harry answered almost immediately to ease the tension.

"We're back!" Ginny came back with Ron following her. Once Ron got into the light properly you could tell Ginny may have punched him in the face a few times but it was hardly noticeable. Maybe just to a few people.

"Well what's the answer?" George asked with a sly grin on his face.

"Answer to what?" Ginny asked

"Well are you two a thing again?" Ginny blushed slightly then looked at Harry.

"Harry and I plan to talk about it later, after dinner. Because I'm being completely truthful, I've heard as much of his voice as you have."Ginny said with amusement in her voice.

"Ok then what about you two?" George asked turning to Hermione.

"We haven't really talked about it either." Hermione said too, looking at Ron with disappointment.

"Oh for god sakes! Ginny and Harry are perfect for each other and haven't stopped looking at each other all night! Of course their a couple! Even if they haven't kissed and made up! And Hermione and Ron maybe completely opposite yet also perfect for each other and even if its complicated, THEY ARE A COUPLE! God am I the only one who can see this?" Percy said looking around. "Worst part is I'm the one who has been gone for three years! And I still see Ginny as the little thirteen year old I left behind! If anyone shouldn't be able to see it, It should be me ….or Charlie, since he has been in Romania." Everyone was astonished with Percy's outbreak yet it made a lot more sense than expected. Maybe Percy was right; maybe all four of them had to pluck up the courage and talk.

The rest of the night couldn't go slower in Harry's mind. After dinner, served Harry's favorite, treacle tart. Harry had one piece and felt his stomach growl. It wasn't a hungry growl, but a growl telling him that if he ate anymore, he would burst. Everyone proceeded into the living room just to sit and catch up.

"So what has been going on in Gringotts?" Arthur asked, breaking the awkward tension that existed throughout the house.

"Yeah, last time I saw it, we were flying on a dragon's back. I hadn't heard anything since." Ron's try of getting to see Harry laugh failed. It actually made Harry feel worse than he already did. _It's my fault that Gringotts need to reconstruct and it's my fault that so many people don't trust anymore goblins. It seems I cause pain everywhere I go. Maybe if I live alone for the rest of my life no one else would be bothered. _These thought kept stirring through his head and he had no control over them.

"Well, people are demanding that they'd see their vault. Problem is that we can't get to their vault. With the rails torn down it's merely impossible. But they're rebuilding them now." Bill didn't want to look at Harry, Ron or Hermione. They were the ones that caused this reconstruction to be needed. It may have been for a good cause but Gringotts still was destroyed and their names were all over it. "Also um, Harry, Ron and Hermione's vaults all have been frozen."

"What! Why?"Molly and Arthur asked nearly in unison.

"Well, I think it's because of them breaking into Bellatrix Lestrange's Vault. And not to mention ruining the entire lobby, and the railings, and freeing the dragon that's worked for Gringotts for nearly one hundred years." _Wow thanks Bill, I didn't think anything could make me want my booze more than I did, but it seems you proved me wrong. _Harry thought to himself as he stared at his shoes. He felt as though he needed to get out of that house. After being attacked about him and Ginny, than being told he's the reason Gringotts is at its worst possible, he just needed to go, NOW.

"Well they can't keep our money frozen there forever. I mean we were in there because of Voldemort, so shouldn't he be the one blamed?"

"Well Hermione, your almost completely correct but actually pretty wrong. You guys were the ones who broke into Gringotts. Therefore the goblins blame you." Harry couldn't take this anymore. He didn't want to leave so dramatically but it seemed that would be the only way possible. Harry got up and practically ran to the front door, quickly grabbed his jacket, and apparated back home. When he got there he went into the closet and took two bottles of booze and a pack of cigarettes. He thought he could get out of this when Ginny came and found him but, no, that didn't seem to help. Actually it seemed to do the exact opposite of help.


	5. Chapter 5

Harry couldn't help but drink and smoke now. It had been three days since he stormed out of the Weasleys without a word. It had been three days since he tried to get out of his trance, out of his hole, out of this terrible life he was living. He went back into the closet that he had been storing his drinks in. The once fully stocked closet was now completely empty with the exception of the empty bottles. All of his packages of cigarettes had been smoked through and it seemed all the food in the house seemed more unappealing in every meal. Yet Kreacher was making it all the same way. It wasn't getting worse; it was getting better. But every time Harry looked at it, his appetite left him. Instead of eating, he would be drinking, instead of breathing, he would be smoking and instead of living, he would be moping. His life couldn't help but burn to the ground.

TAP! TAP! TAP! Harry turned to look out the window. There was a large barn owl on the windowsill, with a note attached to his left leg. _It's obviously the Weasleys, they must be wondering what's going on with me. _

Harry slowing dragged himself to the owl and detached the rolled up piece of parchment. It wasn't from the Weasleys, it was from someone who was pretty damn close though.

* * *

_Dear Harry,_

_I know I'm the last person you want to hear from. I noticed that you were uncomfortable at the Burrow when you visited. And the topic of Gringotts didn't seem to help. If anyone knows you the best, it's me. You may not even open this, but if you do, take these words in. I once knew a clever man who said this to his enemy, "You're the weak one, and you'll never know love or friendship and I feel sorry for you." I think you know who said that. But now that clever man has changed and started making all the wrong choices. And all the love and friendship seems to disappear from his brain. But I know, it didn't disappear from his heart. Why else would he have come or listen to Ginny? I know that the Harry that I grew up with is still in there. I'm almost completely sure that he never left. Maybe he just fell into a ditch and can't get out. We'll make it through this Harry. TOGETHER. You're the closest thing to a brother I have. And I can't just sit around and watch you slowly fall insane. It's truly ridiculous. Please if you can just write back. Maybe we could meet sometime. Like at the Three Broomsticks. It could be just like old times. Just you, me and Ron. I have to include my boyfriend of course. Hopefully you picked up on that. Boyfriend. I don't want to flaunt that in any stretch. I just wanted you to know your not being left in the dark and you're being fully updated while you go through this faze. _

_Please come back to the one we know,_

_Hermione Jean Granger_

* * *

What in the world was she talking about? _We can get through this. _It's like she was going through it too. Well she obviously didn't understand. There was no _"we" _in the situation. It was just him. It wasn't a _"faze" _he was going through. For once the great Hermione got an answer wrong. Harry left the kitchen, now fully sick to his stomach. Hermione did know how to make him feel guilty about himself that's for sure. Harry entered his study and went straight to his desk that was fully cluttered with newspapers, letters, photos, and different fan mail. The fan mail he didn't dare touch. He was still trying to find a way to get rid of it because they weren't even worth his trash can or his fireplace. They weren't even worth floating in the ocean in some forsaken part of the world. He would revisit them later. Harry opened his drawer and took out the parchment he was looking for. It was almost entirely blank except one specific word. _Sorry. _Hopefully she'd catch up on what that meant. Harry quickly rolled it up and attached it to the large barn owl. He didn't want to play this dumb mind game. The sorry was just a sorry. A sorry that meant two things. Sorry but I'm not going to come and meet you and sorry I stormed out. He sent the bird flying back where it came from.

"Master?" Kreacher asked after trailing behind Harry.

"What do you want, Kreacher?" Harry asked in an annoyed tone. He really didn't want to be disturbed at the moment.

"Kreacher ran out of ingredients to make Master's dinner. Kreacher will need to go to the market and buy some more. Does Master approve?"

"Go right ahead, Kreacher. I don't mind. Take your time; I'm not in any rush." Kreacher bowed his head and apparated out of 12 Grimmauld Place. Harry sighed. Kreacher seemed very strange lately. He seemed to care more of what Harry thought. And even more about what Harry wanted to eat. He guessed it was because he didn't really eat anything anymore. Maybe a couple bites here and there, but that was the extent of it. Harry turned around and returned to his study. Harry scanned the room. It seemed a lot cleaner than he remembered it being while he stayed there in fifth year. Actually, with constant nagging about cleaning the entire house probably was what changed it. He shook his head. It seemed every thought of his returned to the Weasleys. Yes, they were the closest thing to a family he had but that didn't mean anything to him anymore. He still cared about them, but he felt as they shouldn't care about him. After all, he was the one who started the Battle of Hogwarts. The very same battle that caused the death of their son. Finally a chest caught Harry's eye. It was dark brown, with a lock on it. It was dark and dusty but it seemed more new than the rest of the furniture that was in the study. He slowly crept toward it. He didn't know what he was doing, but something about it felt right. Harry knelt down on one knee and opened the chest. The lock must have been busted because it was unlocked.

Inside it was different personal items that belonged to someone who, obviously, lived in the house before Harry did. He pushed the junk that was on the top away and dug through the old tattered clothing that was folded in it. Finally, he came to a picture framed, turned upside down with an initial and a message on the back. It read _"SB, JP, PP, and RL. Once a marauder, always a marauder." _MARAUDER! JP! It must have been something of Sirius's. He quickly flipped the picture and saw four young boys, around the age of fourteen, smiling at the camera. There was some sort of sparks in the background with a red headed girl with an angry expression shown on her face. _Must have been a prank they pulled, _Harry thought, _Wait…That must be Mum! The prank must have been set on her. _Harry laughed at the though of his dad pulling a prank on his mum. Harry's eyes returned to a boy with messy black hair and brown eyes. It was his dad, James Potter, looking happy and alive. _Another innocent person who died for my sake. _Why did everyone do that for him? Why was he so ungrateful that everyone did that for him? No one should have sacrificed themselves for this life he has. It seemed all their effort went to waste. Remus Lupin gave Harry one job after he died and one job only. Take care of his son, Teddy. And Harry isn't even stable enough to go and meet the poor infant. It just showed how much didn't deserve to be alive. How much he deserved to feel the regret that nested itself in his chest.

Another day wasted another chance to get better gone. Another opportunity to see his only friend missed. Why did he keep screwing up? This question had gone unanswered as he laid his head on his pillow and slowly drifted to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning, Harry woke up with another hangover. Now this was a usual thing. He actually came to cope with this feeling. The pounding head, and queasy stomach was normal now, and something he got used to. Harry hadn't left the house since he went to the Burrow. Maybe it was time he went outside for a change. Harry grabbed his jacket and a hat. Maybe he wouldn't cause attention if he was unrecognizable. Yet chances of that, slim to none. Harry took one step out of his flat and from that second on he regretted it.

"Mr. Potter, can you tell us why you have been avoiding the press?"

"Mr. Potter, can you answer a few questions on your obsessive drinking habits?"

"Mr. Potter, how do you like the title, The Boy Who Lived Twice?"

"Harry Potter, What did you do for the last six months?"

The questions were endless. How much did these people want to know? _I wouldn't be surprise if they ask what toothpaste I use next. _Harry thought with a small chuckle under his breath.

"I'm nothing special; I just got rid of one guy. Gosh does anyone care about my privacy? Can I just go and enjoy the day I have, without stupid reporters asking me mad questions like you all are? I'll talk about it when I'm ready, and that's not happening soon!" Harry practically yelled at the report wishing they'd get the hint. He marched through the crowd and apparated in front of his house, leaving the reporters practically shell-shocked.

* * *

**Harry Potter is Nothing Special?**

We all know it was Harry Potter who stopped He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, but why has he been avoiding the press? Yesterday reporters found Potter leaving his house for the day. After asking Potter a few questions on his triumph, Harry Potter screamed at all the reporters who calmly asked for some interviews. He said, _"I'm nothing special; I just got rid of one guy. Gosh, does anyone care about my privacy? Can I just go and enjoy the day I have, with out stupid reporters asking me mad question like you all are? I'll talk when I'm ready, and that's not happening soon!" _And with those few departing words Harry Potter apparated out of the crowd. When will Potter be ready? The reporters he pasted by have reported that he had a strong scent of alcohol and smoke. It seems to us at the Daily Prophet that Potter has been practicing a few new habits. So you decide. Is the Chosen One "nothing special" or is he? More reports soon.

* * *

Ginny scowled at this article. For more reasons than one. First for Harry's attitude about his situation. He acted like a complete arse in front of dozens of reporters. Even the Prophet picked up that Harry had a drinking problem. Then also because the reporters were invading his privacy. You can't just go onto Harry's property and ambush him with questions. And something about _"calmly asking for interviews" _seemed highly unlikely. Well the calmly part did.

Ginny was even more angry with Harry's response to Hermione's letter. Sorry. Is that really all he could write back to a letter his "sister" poured her heart out on? How could he? It's obvious that that can't be Harry. Harry James Potter was so much more sensitive to others feelings than that. No she can't just read this article and take it from the ghouls at the Daily Prophet. She needed to hear it from him. She planned to sneak out and visit Grimmauld Place. Maybe she could get through to Harry like last time. Because, maybe not to him, but to her, he was something special.

"HARRY JAMES POTTER!" Ginny yelled into Grimmauld Place after Kreacher so kindly let her in. "YOU BETTER COME OUT HERE BEFORE THE COUNT OF THREE, IF YOU DON'T WANT TO GET BAT-BOGEYED THE LIVING HELL OUT OF!" Ginny heard footsteps coming out of a bedroom from above. And shortly after a man, who needed to shave, wearing untidy, dirty clothes and a tired expression showed himself. "YOU BETTER EXPLAIN YOURSELF!" Ginny could feel the blood pumping to her head as she yelled these words.

"Um, what's there to explain?" He said with a very moody face.

"Let's see, maybe that you…look like garbage, have a closet full of liquor, not eating properly, not bathing properly, can only reply to a letter with a simple sorry, oh and did I mention, LOOK LIKE GARBAGE!"

"One, there's no point of dressing up if the only person who's going to see me is Kreacher. Two, that closet full of liquor, is now just a closet full of empty bottles. Three, I'm not hungry anymore. Four, how can I reply to that letter, after what happened at the Burrow?" Harry's voice rising as he spoke.

"That's the problem, Harry. That liquor should have lasted four years. But you have drunk it down fully in the course of a week. And also you're not hungry, because your body has found that eating itself is quite as filling. And lastly, there shouldn't be an awkward tension with you and everyone because of a simple mistake."

"MISTAKE? SIMPLE? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?"

"Harry, Bill was talking about a sensitive subject. I did it too! I ran out when they started talking about…." Ginny sighed and looked into Harry's eyes. The eyes she fell in love with a little over a year ago. "Look, this isn't going to be easy. This isn't going to be a walk through the park. It's okay to be sensitive about certain topics. Your only human, Harry. Apparently, you just never have known what human feels like."

"Ginny, I know what human feels like. I'm pretty sure I've been one for the last seventeen, soon to be eighteen, years. You lot keeps saying that 'we'll get through this' or 'we'll overcome this faze' but you guys haven't been apart of it. You're not the ones getting unwillingly drunk every night. You're not the ones going to sleep, unhappy with whom you are. You aren't the ones who look in the mirror and see a ghost of yourself. You have no idea!" Ginny's anger turned into sadness. He was right about a few of these things, but they were apart of it.

"Harry, we're your bloody family! We are apart of it!" Harry sighed. He didn't seem like he was going to win this argument. She understood everything. Harry turned around and walked into the kitchen. "Harry if you're even thinking about getting a drink, then you are completely mad!"

"It's the only way I can deal with this!" Harry said as he rummaged through the cupboards looking for some firewhiskey. When he finally found some, Ginny ran and grabbed it out of his hands.

"No it's not! Have you heard of talking through it? Have you heard of facing your pain? You're not going to weasel your way out of this. Tonight, this drinking is coming to an end!" Ginny was determined to set Harry straight. Hopefully lift him up and get him back on his feet.

"You're not going to like what I say, or how I say it. You're going to tell me all things I've already heard. 'oh it's not your fault' or 'oh you have no reason to feel that way' and I've had enough of that for a lifetime!" Harry clenched his teeth. Trying not to let his mouth get the better of him. But it seemed it already did. "Ginny, I appreciate the thought. And I appreciate the try but its not going to get anything far enough. You should just give up on me. I'm not worth it."

"You have to answer one question! Your answer will decide if I'm going to try to help you or not!" Ginny said trying to redirect Harry's attention to the big picture.

"And what is that?" Harry asked, sitting down at the end of the table and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Do you still love me?" Ginny said turning her face into a hopeful expression. Harry looked up and met Ginny's eyes. For one second she could have sworn there was a twinkle in his eye. He nodded. He was always in love with Ginny. But he's not the kind to go flaunting his feelings around like a pair of newly shined shoes. "Well than I'm not giving up. You promised me that there would be a brighter future after Voldemort got killed. Every where else is bright but here with you isn't. That has to change. And I will get my happily ever after with the prince of my dreams." Ginny said smiling during the last part. Harry knew what she meant by that and to be honest, he felt the exact same way about her. Hopefully she was right; that she can help him find a better tomorrow and maybe someday they'd both get the ending they hoped for.

Ginny led Harry into the living room. The room was small and dingy, yet a lot cleaner than the rest of the house. She sat him down on the sofa and she sat across him in the recliner. For a second she just studied him. This made Harry uncomfortable. The first real one on one conversation with Ginny and he looked like trash.

"Well, first things first," Ginny struggled to find a way to start the conversation, "when was the last time you ate something?" Harry shrugged.

"The last time I ate something, or the last time I ate a meal?" Harry asked making sure he knew what she meant by what.

"Your last meal of course!"

"Um, at the Burrow…" Harry redirected his eyes to his shoes. He knew that his answer would get Ginny mad.

"Well that will have to change. When was the last time you took a shower?" She asked, wrinkling her nose at the smell and squinting her eyes at his greasy hair.

"Um, I haven't paid attention to the date since the Burrow. I just go to sleep when I'm tired and get up when I'm not."

"You have no clue what day it is? Well it's May 29. Exactly twenty six days since the Battle of Hogwarts." Harry shook his head. He didn't want to think about the battle. But Ginny looked like she wanted to talk about it. "How about you wash up before we talk anymore? I'm sorry but I can't stand the sight and smell of you!" He nodded and went upstairs to start the shower. Ginny couldn't help but chuckle when Harry listened to her without arguing. _Maybe I'm just that bad arse that he can just cower to me like that! Oh this can come in handy_. Ginny got up and returned to the kitchen, where the bottle of firewhiskey sat on the table. Then it hit her, "That closet of liquor is now just a closet of empty bottles." Harry words finally sunk in. _That means he drank it all! Oh he's in for it! _Ginny walked to the closet hoping Harry was lying. She cautiously opened the closet and found many empty bottles that looked like they were just thrown in there; a few on their sides, a few against the wall, and a few broken. She shook her head and started clearing out the closet. It seemed that no matter how many bottles she threw away, more and more appeared. _Ok! How much booze can one man drink? _Then suddenly a voice came from behind her.

"Can I help you?" The voice didn't sound angry or frustrated. It was the voice he used when he was making jokes, or giving Ron grief. She turned around to come face to face with a man with green eyes and damp hair. He was wearing a smirk but that quickly changed when Ginny spoke.

"HARRY WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT THIS!" She was pointing at the closet. Her voice may have put Voldemort in his place if he was still alive. She walked back towards the living room with Harry following behind. She sat back where she did before Harry took a shower. She nodded her head in the direction of the sofa; telling him to sit there. Harry took a minute and thought of his options, _either sit or run. _Without wasting anymore time, Harry sat down on the sofa. "Harry you said you were getting 'unwillingly' drunk." Harry nodded as she recited his words, "Then why in Merlin's name did you decide to stock that closet, which by God was made for linens, with liquor and whisky and muggle beer?" The more she talked the more she got to Harry. Now she was degrading him? Maybe that's how you get better; degrade down before you build up?

"Gin, have you ever gotten drunk before?" She shook her head, the truth was she had once, but she was never going to tell anybody. "Well once you start you can't just stop. Every day you want that feeling in your head and that after taste in your mouth. It's not just a one time thing." Ginny didn't take that in. She got drunk once and never wanted to again. Did he really think he could past that on?

"Harry, you better come up with a better excuse than that. I know that's not how it works." Ginny was trying so hard not to say what was on her mind.

"How would you know, you've never gotten drunk!" Harry tried to defend himself but little did he know what was going to happen next.

"YOU KNOW WHAT HARRY! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! Harry I have gotten drunk! No one was supposed to know about it, but the people who were there. But you know what I'll tell you that the next day the only thing I wanted was someone to tell me what I did!" As soon as she said this she regretted it.

"You what?! But you're under aged and where in the world would you get drinks past your mum?"

"Maybe it wasn't anywhere near my mum. And as you have shown for the last seven years, age doesn't matter!"

"Where and when could you have gotten drunk?"

"Well, at the beginning of last year, we knew that the year was going to suck, we had a little party in Gryffindor Common Room. We called it 'The Last Night Of Fun' and that's it. We got drunk off of too many butter beers!"

"Butter beers have barely any alcohol! How could you possibly get drunk from them?"

"Harry, when you have around thirteen glasses of it, you get a little tipsy. Anyway I made a speech and I may of said stuff I'll regret for the rest of my life…wait a minute I'm not the one who is getting questioned here! I'm not the one with the problems! You are!" Harry giggled at this. Ginny was always known by Ron and Harry that she could get temporarily side-tracked. "What about this whole smoking thing?"

"What is there about it, I smoke that's it."

"No Harry, that's not it. Are you going to stop? Are you going to try and reduce it? Have you noticed it's not helping you?" again Harry's eyes returned to his shoes. She knew how to turn the tables and make him feel like trash all over again.

"Yes, I've noticed that it's no help in it. Yes, I've already tried to stop. But the chance of just dropping it is well beyond slim."

"I guess I should take what I can get. But what about your social life?"

"What do you mean? My social life is fine. I have Kreacher and I can talk."

"You're so incredibly thick sometimes! I mean are you ever going to talk to Hermione or Ron or Neville or Luna? Maybe George or Parvati or Angelina? Or me?" Her voice died down when she said that last person. She had no Idea if she was even still apart of the picture.

"Yes Ginny, I'm going to try and talk to Ron and Hermione. I can't avoid Neville or Luna; they're too close to me. And soon I'll pluck up the courage to talk to everyone else. And you Gin, well, you tell me?"

"What do you want to know?"

"Am I still apart of the picture? I want to keep my promise I made at Dumbledore's funeral. But that promise can only be kept if you want me to."

"Oh Harry, of course your still apart of the picture! And of course I want you to keep that promise! But Harry are you sure that you are ready for a relationship because last time I checked you were mentally unstable." Harry giggled again. _Merlin, Ginny knows exactly how to make me laugh, or make me smile, _he thought.

"Well, if I'm kept on a short enough leash, my mental stability wouldn't be a problem."

"So does that mean…that you're mine again?" She asked smiling. This was her dream that he was fulfilling. After all those nights of doubt she had while he was gone. All those thoughts that he would not want her to be his again were finally gone. She was his and he was hers. Nothing could ruin her day.

"If you'll take me!" Harry couldn't help but smile. Maybe his life was worth living. Maybe it was time to move on from his despair. She nodded. Then they both got up and hugged. It may not have been what either of them wanted to do. But a good snog could wait. Besides he had liquor mouth and not to mention the smoky smelling breath.

"Harry I think I should introduce my boyfriend properly to my family. It seems I didn't do that well enough the last time and I don't feel like getting attacked by my family again."

"Yeah, I don't want to get attacked by your family again either."

"Fair enough. But Harry I'm sorry but you smell too much like alcohol and smoke. You need to brush your teeth five times before we leave." Harry nodded but this time it wasn't a guilty nod, it was a nod full of laughter and enthusiasm. Maybe the hole he was stuck in, was rising and soon it would rise him back to the top.


	7. Chapter 7

"Ready?" Ginny asked after Harry put on his jacket.

"As ready as I'll ever be." For once Harry wasn't excited to go to the Burrow yet he wasn't completely revolting against it.

"Ok, can you apparate? They didn't teach us at Hogwarts last year." Harry almost forgot that the classes weren't like they used to be. At least now, someone sensible would be headmaster or headmistress and maybe Ginny will learn everything she missed last year.

"Before we do, do you think your family won't approve?" This question had been inside his head since they got together nearly fifteen minutes ago. Ginny thought for a moment then nodded.

"They should approve. I mean they already know of us two years ago and its not like you're a vicious murderer. I think they'll be happy."

"Murderer? Ginny, I did kill Voldemort. Isn't that murder."

"Murder for a good cause. Actually, no one is calling it murder; he didn't even deserve to be called a person, why would they consider his death murder. To me it was a blessing." Harry nodded. He didn't know if he should find that funny or saddening. Either way it was a reassurance. That was exactly what he needed. Harry held out his arm for Ginny to grab hold of. They apparated to the exact spot they were the first try he had to mend himself with the Weasleys.

"Okay Come on, we better get inside. I didn't tell anyone I was leaving so that will probably start some sort of feud. But hang in there, once we tell them, they will forget about it."

"Wow Gin, the feeling of assurance has totally disappeared."

"You know I mean well. Anyways they won't go after you, because that means losing another son or brother and that would devastate them even more." They opened the front door and entered the house.

"GINEVRA MOLLY WEASLEY! WHERE IN MERLIN'S NAME HAVE YOU BEEN! YOU LEFT WITHOUT A NOTE OR EVEN A WARNING! DON'T YOU KNOW THAT THERE STILL DEATH EATERS REVENGING AGAINST US FOR YOU-KNOW-WHO'S DEATH!" Molly was completely oblivious to Harry's presence. "AND YOU LEFT WITHOUT ANY BREAKFAST AND WAS GONE UNTIL LATE AFTERNOON! WHEN WILL YOU USE YOUR HEAD AND…..HARRY! YOU'RE HERE!" Finally noticed Harry by making up her arrogance, she caught Harry in one of her bone-crushing hugs. "EVERYONE HARRY'S HERE! AND HE LOOKS HAPPY!" After about two seconds, Hermione and Ron ran out of the living room.

"Harry! Where have you been?! I sent you a letter and all you wrote back was sorry! What did you mean by that? Are you okay? Are you truly drinking and smoking? Harry your special to us! What the Daily Prophet said was barmy! Oh Merlin, Harry!" Hermione didn't seem like she wanted to let Harry out of her embrace.

"Hermione, I think Harry would like some time to breathe, before his best mate pounds him into hell for scaring us like that." Hermione let go of Harry then looked back at Ron.

"Ron! Harry is at least here! That's better than before! So there will be no pounding of any best mates." Harry suppressed the laugh he had in his throat.

"So I take it, you two being together won't change any of your bickering?"

"HARRY TALKED! AND LAUGHED! BECAUSE OF ME AND THIS BIMBO BRAIN!" Hermione took Harry back into a hug.

"Um, Hermione, that wasn't an answer to my question and I already hugged you. Why is everyone so surprised with me talking? I mean haven't you two, of all people, heard enough of me?" Hermione let go, completely taken back with his statement.

"Well, Harry, you haven't been yourself for the last twenty some odd days. It's a miracle that you came back here. And you're my brother and Ron's best mate, how could we get sick of you?" Harry shrugged; they had no reason to be like this. Ron should pound him for his behavior.

"Hey Harry, can I have a word?" Bill came out from behind Ron. He seemed suspiciously disappointed, maybe even ashamed. Harry followed Bill into the vacant living room. "Um, Harry, I'm very sorry for what happened last time. I didn't mean to be so insensitive. I should have known that you wouldn't want to talk about that. I mean, bloody hell, you finally came and saw us, and I chased you out. I'm so sorry."

"Bill, its fine. I know you didn't mean that to happen. I know you were just informing us. I was the one who overreacted. Actually, your sister explained my wrong doing. I should have asked to change the subject and that's my fault. And now it's time to move on and not feel sorry for myself anymore. Hopefully you can understand."

"I sure can Harry. So my sister escaped and went to your flat, didn't she?" Harry's face turned bright red. "Don't worry; I'm pretty sure she probably was just trying to set you straight. That's what family does right?" _His reaction won't be the same when Ginny tells him about our relationship, maybe he'll jump to conclusions and…no Harry! Don't think like that! Ginny meant what she said, they'll be happy for us. _His thoughts didn't help him. He can't even stay positive in his thoughts. _Anyways if they object to it, Ginny will set them straight with that bat-bogey hex of hers and they won't care anymore._

"Everyone, Dinner is ready! Take your seats!" Molly's voice rang throughout the Burrow. Harry and Bill entered the kitchen and looked for their seats. Harry couldn't help but laugh at the seating arrangements. Arthur and Molly sat at the heads of the table, while George and Angelina Johnson sat on the left side along with Percy, in the middle, then an empty seat and Fleur. At the other side of the table sat Ron and Hermione, Ginny with an empty seat that Harry assumed was for him, then Charlie. Harry took his seat between Hermione and Ginny. Once he looked around the table, he noticed everyone was staring at him.

"What?"

"Well what has been going on these last few days? Your letter was very descriptive, except for the absence of everything!" George seemed to find Harry's discomfort amusing. But Harry didn't mind, actually he was happy to see George as his usual joking self.

"Well, I guess I've been, um, taking care of business?" Harry didn't want to say what he was really up to. What would he say to the Weasleys? Oh you know I've been smoking and drinking my life away.

"By business, you mean…what?"

"Oh, you know the business of… life?"

"Harry, your guilt is showing. And your not great actor. And also, we know about your little smoking habits. But we can't believe the quote of the prophet, Um, Angelina, what was that?"

"I'm not apart of this, George."

"Oi! Harry can take a joke! Can't you Harry?" Harry nodded.

"Harry, I need to hear it from you. Have you really been drinking and smoking?" Molly's voice seemed concerned. Almost like if Harry said the wrong thing she'd burst into tears.

"Um, well, um, do you all want to hear the truth or the thing that will make the visit more enjoyable?"

"The truth." The family said in unison.

"Well…It started when Hermione first visited Grimmauld Place. I couldn't stand myself for just blowing her off like that. So I went to a muggle pub. I got a little drunk and went into a convenient store. I bought a pack of cigarettes because something about them caught my eye. When I got home I passed out and forgot about them until the next morning when I saw them on the table. So I went on my back porch and started smoking them. And I swore I saw a flash of light but I disregarded it. Later I found out it was some reporter from the Daily Prophet. Soon this became a daily routine. I was smoking about a pack a day and the bartender started memorizing my name. Then Hermione and Ginny came back. And Ginny convinced me to come and visit you guys. She told all I had to do was nod or shake my head to any question. So I decided to come. And Bill I didn't plan to talk about this but, you weren't the real reason why I left. I left because I really wanted to get drunk and have a smoke. So I left. Then my drinking got worse because of my guilt. Later I stocked up on booze so I wouldn't have to leave the house a lot. Then Ginny found me today, told me I was being barmy, and here I am." After he finished everyone looked astounded, even Ginny.

"HARRY JAMES POTTER! YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE DONE THAT! DRINKING AND SMOKING! IF YOU LIKE IT OR NOT, YOU'RE MY SON! AND I'M NOT GOING TO LET YOU GET DRUNK ANYMORE!"

"Your daughter beat you to it!"

"What?"

"Mum, everyone, Harry and I have gotten back together. I'm going to make sure all this is going to end." Ginny stepped in once she saw Harry's face. He obviously never saw this pointed in his direction.

"But Harry are you sure you're ready for that type of commitment? Not that I'm not happy for you two. But you did just tell us you were drinking and smoking everyday." Hermione stated trying not to get Harry mad.

"Oi, I already asked him the very same question. He's always been ready. Don't you think this is exactly what he needs? I mean I already can get under his skin. And every time he has tried to come here was because I asked him to. Plus, you lot don't know about this, but Harry promised me after Voldemort was killed, that we could try again. And you know what, I don't see Voldemort anywhere. Therefore, there is nothing in the way." Again, Ginny to the rescue.

"You're seeing nothing; I'm seeing an entire army of brothers, all older than me, ready to pound me to death." Harry added to Ginny, making everyone else laugh.

"You know, last year I thought you two were disgusting together. But now I see that you guys complete each other."

"What? How could you say that Ron? No offense, Harry, but you should first learn to take care of yourself before you handle our sister. And whoever gets with my sister has to prove himself." Charlie said accusingly.

"Like Harry hasn't. He killed Voldemort for Merlin's sake. He broke up with me to protect me, Charlie. What more do you want?" Ginny looked completely disgusted with her brother's comment. How dare he say that about Harry!

"Yeah Charles, Why are you being so thick? You'd think the one who tames dragons for a living would be the understanding kind." Ginny scowled at George for the idiotic, sarcastic, below-the-belt comment.

"I'm not being thick, it's just the last time I saw Ginny, she was fourteen and she was way too young to date boys."

"Yeah, way too young…" Ginny looked down at her shoes when she repeated her brothers inference.

"Why do you look so suspicious, Ginny?" Ginny looked up but didn't say anything until Ron decided to make matters worse.

"She dated Michael Corner when she was fourteen!"

"Thanks, Ron. Now that my parents know almost everything about me, lets talk about little Ronniekins and how he dated Lavender Brown."

"GINEVRA MOLLY WEASLEY! YOU DATED A BOY AT FOURTEEN!" Molly obviously didn't know a single detail about he daughter's personal life, along with Charlie, Percy, Bill, George and her husband.

"Ginny how many boyfriends have you had?" George asked

"You act like I dated the entire Hogwarts school! I've only had three! And maybe a half!"

"A half?!" Now this is where Harry needed the explanation.

"Everyone knew about that one though. If I do remember correctly, I announced it in front of everyone, including you, Hermione and Ron!" Ginny defended.

"Still not ringing any bells."

"What? Remember, I went to the Yule Ball with Neville, but we went as friends."

"Oh, I don't consider that a boyfriend."

"Wait THREE boyfriends. We have Corner and Potter but who else?" Bill yelled he didn't like hearing anything about his sister dating anybody.

"Dean Thomas. I dated Corner in forth year, then I dated Thomas fifth year. Then I broke up with Thomas, and Harry kissed me." Ginny said this, and then quickly covered her mouth. Maybe tell her brothers about kissing boys, was a bad idea.

"Harry, what?!" Bill, Charlie, and Percy yelled in unison. They all scowled at Harry. He paled almost suddenly.

"DO NOT YELL AT HARRY! BECAUSE HE WASN'T MY FIRST KISS! AND YOU KNOW WHAT, I'M HAPPY HE DID IT! BECAUSE I HAD BEEN WAITING FOR HIM TO KISS ME FOR AS LONG AS I COULD REMEMBER! Well at first I thought boys were icky and I thought all husband and wife did was hold hands and that's all I really wanted. BUT THEN I GAINED MORE KNOWLEDGE AND I FINALLY UNDERSTAND THAT HOLDING HANDS IS JUST A PERK OF HAVING A BOYFRIEND!"

"GINNY! YOU HAVE KISSED OTHER BOYS!" Bill was astounded that he knew nothing of his sister's life.

"Oi, leave her alone! It's not like you only kissed Fleur! She's allowed to do whatever she wants!" For once Ron was making a lot of sense.

"AND YOU! WE LEFT YOU TO WATCH OVER HER WHILE YOU WERE AT HOGWARTS WITHOUT US! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU KNEW ABOUT THIS AND WERE COMPLETELY OKAY WITH IT!"

"HEY DON'T BLAME RON FOR THIS! HE DID ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG! PERCY DATED PENELOPE CLEARWATER AT SIXTEEN! AND I WOULDN'T BE SURPRISED IF YOU OR CHARLIE DATED SOMEONE AT HOGWARTS TOO! SO SHOVE OFF! OR YOU KNOW, EVEN BETTER, BUGGER OFF! ALL OF YOU!" Everyone gasped. Ginny Weasley was never like this in front of her family! Well, except Ron.

"GINEVRA! DO NOT TALK LIKE THAT!" Arthur shunned, he could take things his family couldn't but, his daughter swearing was off limits.

"Sorry Dad, but you lot would have been perfectly happy if you never knew! So why would you act different if you did!" Harry pleaded for them to meet Ginny somewhere, because if not, Harry's head was about to leave his shoulders. "Also, in case you haven't noticed I'm turning seventeen in about two months! Soon your opinions won't matter to me anymore!" Ginny was never so close to crying in front of her brothers, and today was not going to be the day that they were going to see her. She quickly ran to her room and slammed the door behind her. Leaving her boyfriend to deal with the "army of brothers".

"BEEL WEAZLEY' YOU ZALL' NOT TALK TO YOUR ZEESTER ZAT VAY! YOU VEEL GO STRAIGHT TO 'ER AND APOLOGIZE!" For the first time ever, Fleur raised her voice in front of her in laws. And everyone was mere shocked yet, happy, that she put her husband in her place.

"YOU TOO CHARLIE, PERCY AND GEORGE!" Mrs. Weasley added to Fleur's statement. All the boys groaned because they were never the ones who got in trouble with Ginny. And today wasn't the day to endure one of Ginny's bat-bogey hexes.

"Don't worry, Harry. We're not mad at you. We're mad at our daughter for not telling us the truth." Harry nodded. He didn't want to be the reason that Ginny got in trouble but, he was. If he wasn't dating Ginny now, she wouldn't have had to tell her family of her past, and she wouldn't be up in her room crying her eyes out. Everything kept tracing back to him. Ten minutes past by and still no brothers with any cuts or sores came down the stairwell. There hadn't been any yelling heard from upstairs and there hadn't been any screams for help. What could have been going on up there?


	8. Chapter 8

"Harry, Ron, can you please go upstairs and find out what is going on?"Arthur asked obviously worried about his sons. He didn't worry about his daughter because she obviously could take care of herself. He was more afraid of what his daughter might have done to his sons. Harry and Ron practically sprinted up the stairs. They knew that if it was taking this long, her brothers might as well be dead. But when they got there they noticed that Bill, George, Charlie and Percy were all lying on the ground not moving. They were alive but not moving. _Must have been Petrificus Totalus. _

"Ginny?" Harry said through the door that separated him from her room.

"Go away, Harry!" Ginny said back. It was quite apparent by the sound of her voice that she had been crying.

"Ginny, you can't just stay here all alone and cry. You wouldn't let me do it, so, I'm not going to let you."

"Is there anyone else with you?"

"Yeah, just Ron."

"Ron…you go away." Ron looked at Harry and shrugged.

"Good luck, mate. You'll need it." Ron said while giving him a look of sympathy.

"Okay Ron's gone, Ginny. Can I come in now?"

"Mhmm" Harry opened the door and found Ginny standing in front of her window. Her back was turned to him and her hand was on the side of the windowsill.

"Ginny. What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? Really, Harry? You just saw my entire family attack me. That's what's wrong. They can't be any more unsympathetic."

"Ginny, your entire family wasn't attacking you. Ron wasn't. Hermione wasn't. Angelina wasn't. Your dad wasn't. I wasn't. Your mum was just surprised. She didn't mean it offensively."

"It's so unfair. They dated at sixteen. So why can't I?"

"Ginny, how do I explain this. You're the youngest in the family. You're the baby sister. To them you'll always be that. So it's hard for them to see their baby sister date guys. Especially, Percy and Charlie."

"Why them?" Ginny asked, still facing the window.

"Because Percy hasn't seen you since you were thirteen. And Charlie has been back and forth from Romania since you were ten. They might still see you that age; therefore they can't see how much you've changed." Ginny turned around and stared into Harry's eyes. The eyes she could call her own now.

"I thought today was the day to give you sympathy."

"You already did, and I've taken the first step. Getting over it. Maybe you should too." Ginny walked a little bit closer to Harry.

"Thank you, Harry."

"My pleasure." And that was all Harry could say before Ginny closed the gap between them. They kissed. They kissed for the first time since they reunited, it was more amazing than firewhiskey. They finally, broke apart.

"Oh my God." They said in unison, smiling. They both leaned in and kissed again. Maybe being attacked by brothers is worth it.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I noticed that a few of my words through out the last chapters have been missing. I'm sorry if the story stopped making sense. I'm trying to fix everything! I don't know what's going to happen after this chapter. But I know another update will happen soon! Thanks for reading this far! Enjoy! :)**

The next morning, Harry woke up with a smile on his face. Today wasn't going to be a day where he would smoke and drink. He was going back to the Burrow for lunch. They didn't have anything planned, but that's what they needed. They just needed time to hang around and talk and not worry.

"Kreacher!" Harry said. For once he wanted breakfast.

"Yes Master." To Harry, Kreacher was in a very weary situation. He hadn't followed Harry's order like he was supposed to, but without Kreacher, Harry wouldn't have talked to Ginny, or gone to the Burrow, or have an appetite.

"Do you mind making breakfast this morning, like you used to?"

"Of course Master! What does Master want?" Kreacher was beaming with happiness. For the first time in a long time, Harry was asking for food.

"Um, just some bacon and eggs, please." Kreacher bowed his head and left the bedroom. Before Harry left too, a book caught his eye. The same book he had thrown across the room nearly three weeks ago. Harry crouched down and picked it up. He gently closed it properly and replaced it up onto the top of the dresser, where it belonged and left the bedroom.

"Um, Master's breakfast is ready!" Kreacher yelled from the kitchen.

"Coming, Kreacher!" Harry sat down at the kitchen table and started to eat his first breakfast that he had in three weeks. TAP! TAP! TAP! Harry looked up towards the noise and saw a majestic, snowy owl outside his window. He had a note tied to his left leg and a package dangling from his beak. Harry hurried to the window, so he could take the load of the poor owl. Harry opened the letter first.

* * *

_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_Assistant Minister, Arthur Weasley, was supposed to inform you of a meeting with me today. You were supposed to owl me as soon as possible. But it looks like that favor was not completed. Either way, we have a meeting scheduled today at three o'clock to talk about your financial situation. You have some items to require now that you are seventeen. Please write back as soon as you get this owl. Punctuality is the best characteristic of a man, remember that._

_Thank you,_

_Minister for Magic_

_Kingsley Shacklebolt_

* * *

As quick as possible, Harry went up to his study and took out a piece of parchment and a quill and started his response.

_Dear Minister Shacklebolt,_

_I was informed of this meeting, and of the owl response. But when I was informed, I was going through a tough time. I am very sorry of my unprofessional behavior. I will be available to come to this meeting. I might bring someone with me, because I can't do it alone. Hopefully you understand. Also, don't blame . He did nothing wrong, and he did what he was told. I was the one who didn't listen._

_Thank you,_

_Harry James Potter_

Harry ran back downstairs and attached the note to the owl. The snowy owl then flew out the window it came in. Harry turned to the package and opened it. Inside was a bottle of potion. It had a piece of parchment wrapped around it but, the parchment wasn't a regular piece of parchment. The parchment was purple with pink swirls on it. Harry opened the parchment with curiosity.

* * *

_Dear Harry,_

_I saw your article in the paper and Ginny told me how you're acting. I think Narghals have gotten to you. Next time you take a shower, use this. Then right after your shower, soak your hands in ice water and wait until you can't feel them, that means that all the Narghals are gone. Hopefully we can talk face to face soon!_

_Stay away from Wrackspurts,_

_Luna Lovegood_

* * *

Just as Harry would suspect. He hadn't heard from Luna since the battle. She must have been getting her father out of Azkaban. BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! Harry's wrist watch alarmed him that it was time to apparate to the Burrow.

Harry knocked on the door to the Burrow and had an immediate response. Ginny opened the door with tears streaming down her face.

"Ginny, what's wrong?"

"Oh, it's nothing."

"Gin, you never cry so, why are you crying?"

"Harry, nothing happened. It was my mistake and I just need to get out of here."

"Well, I'm supposed to go to the Ministry for some meeting with Kingsley. Do you want to join me?"

"Sure, Harry! When is it?"

"Not for two more hours. So, you have time to tell me why you were crying?"

"Harry, I may of told my mum too much of last year."

"What do you mean? Why did you try to keep last year a secret from your mum?"

"Harry, Hogwarts was run by death eaters. I was apart of the good side and I stand for what I believe in. Put two and two together." Finally it hit him. Ginny Weasley did what Harry Potter did fifth year. But Harry felt like her already pushed Ginny too far with asking her all the questions. He made a rash decision to ask her later, maybe in a few days.

"Well, we still have about two hours. Maybe we should go inside, and maybe you should apologize to your mum."

"Harry, I wasn't the one attacking her. She was attacking me."

"Ginny, worrying about you isn't considered attacking you. And I'm pretty sure your mum wouldn't just explode, unless you fought back."

"Maybe your right."

"There you go. The first step to becoming right, is to admit that you're wrong. Let's go." Harry and Ginny went back into the house. The sobs of were heard all over the house. Ginny must have really hurt her feelings because was not one that would cry a lot.

"Mum. I'm really sorry." Molly looked up at her daughter. She couldn't believe it. For once, Ginny was admitting to a mistake that she made.

"It's alright dear. I'm sorry I got angry with you. But, I wish you told me. I would have gotten you out of there sooner."

"That was exactly why I didn't tell you. I didn't want to leave. But I don't want to talk about it right now. It's too fresh, too hard to think about. Let's just be happy it's over." Molly nodded than looked around to see who was standing in the door way behind Ginny.

"Harry! How wonderful to see you, dear!" She said pulling Harry in to her bone-crushing hugs. "What brings you here today?"

"Well, I have a meeting at the Ministry today and I was wondering if Ginny would like to join me. And maybe afterwards, come with me to meet Teddy."

"Oh right, Andromeda flooed and said that she was looking forward to seeing you today. It must have passed me by that you were meeting Teddy for the first time ever."

"Yeah, I only saw a picture of him, before the whole Gringotts thing. I'm a bit nervous."

"Oh don't be nervous, Harry. You'll be a great god-father. You already showed you would do anything for the entire Wizarding world. I'm pretty sure you'll do anything for Teddy." Harry took her words in. That meant a lot to him. It might have been the first complement he heard in a long time. "Well, have you had lunch yet?" Harry shook his head. "Breakfast?"

"Mhmm. Kreacher made me bacon and eggs, with a muffin. It was my first breakfast I've had since I went down hill."

"Well, let me cook up your first real lunch, since you went down hill." left to start cooking; leaving Ginny and Harry alone in the living room.

"So... I also have one more thing I have to do today. And I was wondering if you'd come along as well."

"Really, what's that?"

"Well, you know I like Kreacher and everything. But the mad reporters have found out that I live in Grimmauld Place. I like to have my own privacy, so I was thinking maybe I should buy a small flat away from all of them. Hopefully, it would take them a while to figure out where I live."

"Of course I will come with you! You don't seem like someone who knows anything about flat hunting. Maybe you'll need some assistance."

"Why do you say that?"

"Mainly because I've seen Grimmauld place and well, let's just say, it's not the Harry Potter type flat." Harry totally agreed with her. Harry absolutely hated the house. The only reason why he was living there and not the Burrow was because he didn't seem completely welcome there. The Weasleys were always welcoming and everything, but he felt wrong just waltzing in there after Fred died. "Do you want to go after you finish your lunch? Maybe we can get a head start."

"Sure. But I am hungry."

"Harry, that's why I said _after _lunch, I grew up with six brothers, and I know how you lot think." She said ruffling his already messy hair.

"Harry! Your lunch is ready!" Molly yelled from the kitchen.

"WAIT! DID SOMEONE SAY HARRY?" Ron's voice shouted from upstairs.

"NO ONE SAID HARRY! THEY SAID LAVENDER!" Harry yelled back. Then, all you could hear was a clunking down the stairs. Soon another ginger and brunette joined the two in the living room.

"Harry, I'm not that stupid. I can tell that that was you, mate." Ron said completely serious.

"Ron, I think Harry was just being sarcastic." Hermione chipped in.

"No really, Hermione?"

"What? I was just saying that. You sounded like you took that offensively."

"Hermione. I'm not that dumb. I did grow up with a big sarcastic family. I know a bit about it." Then the bickering started all over again.

"They still do this? I thought they were boyfriend and girlfriend." Harry whispered to Ginny. Ginny nodded.

"They are. I think it's in their nature to bicker. They wouldn't be Hermione and Ron if they didn't." Harry chuckled; it would be weird to have them get along perfectly now. Harry and Ginny left the couple in the living room. "You know, the more they bicker, the more food we get!"

"Let's hope it lasts long enough. I would like to actually fill my plate with everything I want without Ron peering at me." Not a moment passed by, until Ron and Hermione entered the kitchen, smiling at the full table. "Forget what I said. I don't think that's going to happen today." Ginny laughed at Harry's statement. She never noticed how funny Harry could be when he wasn't trying. Two years ago, Harry was sweeter than funny, and they were laughing at other people not at each other's comments. They never got to spend time that much time together when they were dating at Hogwarts. With Harry in his NEWT year and Ginny in her OWLS year, time to each other was impossible, and then Harry broke it off.

"Alright, Ginny, it's time to go." She nodded. It was going to be their first official date. Just one on one without friends or family around them and Ginny was head over heels excited!

They apparated to Diagon Alley, where they were going to go to the Wizarding world real estate agent and talk about what flats would work best for Harry. Harry and Ginny spent most of their time walking to the office laughing, and enjoying themselves, until another flash of light hit them. They looked around and saw absolutely no one with a camera.

"Those blasted reporters! I swear next time I see a single person with a camera, I'm going to explode!"

"Harry, its okay, lets just go find you a new flat, where they won't find you and stay perfectly well kept away from them. And also I have an idea for the next time we go out together." Harry nodded, he was now expecting a new article in the Daily Prophet, with a picture of him and Ginny holding hands, smiling and laughing. But what will they say about them? Hopefully, nothing that would offend Ginny.

"Welcome to Mademoiselle Market! We are the top real estate agency in the Wizarding world! I'm Amelia Frankfort and I will be helping you today! So what are your names?" The lady in the orange jacket and black high heels said while leading them into her office.

"Well, Amelia, we want to make sure that this is absolutely confidential." Harry said while keeping his bangs covering his scar.

"Why of course! But why would you need to make sure?"

"Because I'm Harry Potter and this is my girlfriend, Ginny Weasley and I need to find a flat away from the reporters." The lady looked absolutely shocked. "I guess you never have had a celebrity buy real estate from you." She shook her head.

"Well, I guess there's always a first right? Anyway, what type of house are you looking for?" Amelia asked while rummaging through a folder of papers.

"Just a regular flat. Something temporary, since I'm going to be in Auror training, I won't be home a lot." Harry said while holding Ginny's hand.

"Ok and you said you wanted it away from the reporters, so, do you want it close or far away from Diagon Alley?"

"It doesn't matter. I live in a muggle area now, and that doesn't seem to keep them away, so, the location doesn't matter."

"Okay and how many bedrooms?"

"Two, one for me and one for my godson when he visits."

"Alright and how many bathrooms would you like?"

"I guess three."

"Ok we have about five flats that fit your needs. When would you like to tour them?"

"Well I was hoping today, after my meeting at the Ministry, so, maybe around four?" She nodded her head and moved five pieces of parchment from one folder another.

"Alright then, I will see you at four." She reached out and shook both their hands and showed them out of her office.

"That seemed weird." Harry said when they got out into the street.

"What do you mean 'weird'? She seemed perfectly normal."

"I don't know, she seemed like she was afraid of me, in some sort of way. Like I was intimidating her." Ginny shrugged, but she could see how Harry could think that.

"Probably just a little star-struck. No big deal. Maybe we should go to the Ministry." Harry nodded the thought of 's discomfort kept coming into his thoughts. Why was she so frantic around him?

**A/N: What did you think of this chapter? What do you want Harry's flat to look like? Do you want Amelia to have a dark past or do you want her to just be a fan girl? please review, I need ideas! Thanks :)**


	10. Chapter 10

Harry and Ginny entered the Ministry with ease. Kingsley put up defensive spells to keep away the reporters and death eaters. They went straight to Kingsley's office and started the meeting early.

"So, Minister, what about my financial situation."

"Harry, you can call me Kingsley. I think we're closer than just a Minister greeting."

"Yes, Kingsley. So is this about Gringotts freezing my vault?" Kingsley nodded.

"And also, since you're seventeen, you are able to acquire the remains of your ancestors."

"Like what?"

"Well, when you were an infant, your parents left everything to Remus, Sirius and Peter Pettigrew. Now that all three are dead, you get what they left behind unattended. Also, Remus Lupin left you some extras because of your care for his son. Then you also get the rest of the Potter ancestry items, like the Potter Manor, and the rest of the vaults. And also, this is where it gets more serious, Voldemort had expected to be immortal, therefore he never made a will."

"Okay, but what's that got to do with me?" Ginny was already confused with the situation from 'when you were an infant'. Not that she was stupid, but Kingsley spoke too fast and lost her completely.

"Well, it states in Wizarding law that, if a person doesn't make a will, and gets killed in a duel. The winner of the duel obtains his fortune."

"So your saying that I get everything Voldemort owned."

"Yes. Most of the items were stolen from other wizards that are deceased, like Bathilda Bagshot. And also the Potter wealth is very extensive. If you use it properly, you'll have no problem with your future. So, let's start with your parents' will. Now, they left you two letters. Both in which are stating their apologies for having to leave you, and their gratitude for understanding. They left everything else to their fellow Marauders. Then we have Sirius, who left you everything. This includes, 12 Grimmauld Place, as you know, the Black commonwealth, Kreacher, and everything in the Gringotts vaults. Then we have Remus Lupin, he left you half his money to take care of Teddy Remus Lupin. The other half was left to his mother-in-law, Andromeda Tonks. But I think, with the money your about to own, you'll be fine with half. Next we have Peter Pettigrew, Voldemort promised his an eternal life as well, and therefore he didn't make a will. You will receive the rest of the Pettigrew fortune. The Pettigrew household has been destroyed. Are you following me?"

"Well so far all I'm hearing is that I'm obtaining more money that I don't need." Kingsley laughed; yes that was the general idea.

"Alright, now the items from Voldemort, You will obtain all the Riddle wealth, and the Gaunt wealth. Gaunt being his mother's and Riddle being his father's. But we cannot leave you with the stuff he stole; we are going to return them to their rightful owners."

"Trust me, I don't mind."

"Alright, there's only one more will. The Potter wealth. You now own, the PotterMansion, the Godric Hollow cottage, that's where your parents lived, and the family summer home. Also there are around twenty vaults in Gringotts under the Potter name."

"So how much money do I have now?"

"You have approximately 1,000,000,000,000 galleons."

"I don't think I need that much so, I want you to give 300,000,000 galleons to Arthur and Molly Weasley, 250,000,000 to Ronald Weasley, 250,000,000 to Hermione Granger, 200,000,000 to George Weasley, 200,000,000 to Ginny Weasley, 200,000,000 to Bill and Fleur Weasley, 200,000,000 to Percy Weasley and lastly 200,000,000 to Charlie Weasley and can you start a vault for Teddy?" Ginny just stared at her boyfriend in amazement. Why did he just do that? He could be the wealthiest wizard in the world but he was willing to give it up. "Also, can I donate 1,200,000,000 to Hogwarts? Oh and can you send 20,000,000 to Luna Lovegood's father. I may have destroyed his house. How much do I have now?"

"Approximately 996,980,000,000galleons."

"Okay can you donate 100,000,000 to WWW?"

"Okay now its 996,880,000,000 galleons but how much do you want in Teddy's vault?"

"How about 200,000,000."

"Okay now its 996,680,000,000"

"Well, I guess I'll just let it be for now. Then I'll deal with it some more, later."

"Alright and also I have one more thing. Gringotts wants you to pay for the damages."

"Okay, how much?"

"They want 1,000,000,000 galleons."

"Okay so that means I have 995,680,000,000, that's perfectly fine." Kingsley opened the door and led them to the exit. They apparated to outside Andromeda's house, but before they went inside, Ginny stopped.

"Harry, why did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"You know bloody well what."

"You mean the money thing?"

"Yeah, why did you give us so much?"

"I needed to get rid of the money some how, and your family has done so much for me. They fought beside me when they didn't have to. They took me in and made me feel like family. Give me a reason why not to do it."

"But Harry, you know Mum is going to flip out on you when she sees what you did."

"Well, I'll just say that that's what war heroes get and leave."

"You're a prat, you know that. But I love you for it." Ginny said hugging him.

"I love you too." Harry said back, suddenly Ginny pulled back and looked straight into his eyes.

"Really?"

"Of course." Ginny then pulled Harry into a stronger embrace, one that made Harry lose his breath.

"Gin, um, I don't need anymore injuries."


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: I think I fixed all the name problems. If I didn't can you post a review of any that are missing. Anyway thank you, to all of the people who favorited this story or followed it. And thank you for the instructive and positive reviews. They mean a lot to me! Enjoy :)**

"Are you sure that you're ready for this?"

"Why wouldn't I be? He is my godson after all."

"I know but, taking care of a little kid is nothing like taking care of a fish or an owl, Harry. It's a bigger picture than that."

"I know but I can't just leave him to Andromeda. It's not that I don't think she can do it. It's more of; I don't want her to be left alone to do it. Like you said taking care of a kid is a big responsibility. Plus Andromeda and I will make a great team."

"Oh so, I'm not apart of this team?" Ginny said grinning.

"No, you are. You'll be a big part of the team like you know, changing diapers, and getting up in the middle of the night to calm him down." Harry was smiling even more.

_Shit, he got me there. Operation giving-as-much-grief-as-possible-to-Harry has been aborted. _Ginny thought.

"You know, you're the mother in the situation. That's your job, Harry." Ginny definitely knew how to get Harry to back down. Harry blushed, he was not the mother in the situation, wait, is he?

"I can assure you I'm not even close to being as good as a mother, let alone godfather." Harry grabbed Ginny's hand and they apparated to the Tonks residence.

"Hello, Andromeda!" Harry greeted her as she opened the door to him.

"Oh hello, Harry, and Ginny, you're here to see Teddy, right?"

"Yeah, is that okay?"

"Oh it's perfectly fine dear. Anyway, Teddy is in the nursery."

"Oh, if he's taking a nap then don't feel obligated to wake him up for me."

"No, he's not napping, that's the problem. He can't get much sleep since…well you know." Harry nodded. Ginny stepped forward and hugged Andromeda. "Thank you, Ginny. And also, Harry, please call me Andy. I never liked my real name."

"Just like me." Ginny laughed with Andy about their coincidence the entire way to the nursery. As soon as they got there, Teddy's hair turned from a sandy brown to a bright red.

"I'm pretty sure that means he sees someone." She went over and took the two and a half month old baby out of the crib. "He's quite friendly and not too fussy. He just won't sleep."

"Does he cry a lot when you put him in the crib?" Ginny asked trying to make conversation.

"No, usually I'll do what I did with Nymphadora; I'll put him in the crib and leave. Then come and check on him in five minutes. But when I get back, he still has his eyes wide open and he usually is looking around the room. It's quite curious."

"That is a little peculiar." Andy nodded and turned to Harry.

"Would you like to hold him? Just remember to support his head and then the rest is quite simple." She said placing Teddy in his arms. This time Teddy's hair turned to a light shade of pink. "That means he likes you."

"I suppose that's a good thing, right?" Harry asked with a frightened look on his face.

"Don't worry, that's a very good thing. It be a bad thing if his hair turned black."

"What does that mean?"

"It means he's going to cry, or use the loo. Either one has the same results." Andy said shaking her head. "Have you ever been around small children before, Harry?" Harry shook his head; the closest thing to a small child was his Uncle Vernon and Cousin Dudley, mainly because they had the attitude of a small child. "I thought that you hadn't. But don't be afraid, it's quite simple. I've gone through it many times before, with Tonks and Bellatrix and Narcissa." Andy sighed, her sister, Bellatrix, had died during the battle yet, she deserved it. That's what you get for being a death eater. Narcissa on the other hand, was still alive but after she married Lucius Malfoy, she stopped talking to Andromeda and also she joined the death eaters.

"I'm very sorry about everything, Andy. Tonks was a great person and friend." Ginny said patting her back.

"Yeah, she was. Bellatrix on the other hand, I don't mind her being gone." Andy chuckled, and then Teddy began to squirm and reach out for Ginny. Ginny looked at Andy for permission and Andy nodded. Ginny took Teddy from Harry and held him close. He was such a darling baby. His eyes were from his father but, his face looked like his mum.

"Is he, you know, like his father?"

"I won't know until the full moon. I have some of Remus' potion just in case." Then, all of a sudden, Harry's wrist watched went off again. It read 4:00pm.

"Oh Ginny, we have to go. Um, thank you so much Andy. I'm glad I finally got to meet him."

"Oh, you're welcome. We need to schedule a time for a play date with you, Harry." Harry nodded then took Ginny's hand and apparated back into Diagon Alley.

**A/N: So, what did you think of this chapter? What would you want Harry's flat to look like? And will we figure out what's Amelia's problem? Next Update coming soon. Thanks :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Thank you for all the favoriting and following. Since this is my first fanfiction ever, it's quite exciting. Leave reviews please, I'd love to hear/read your ideas! Enjoy :)**

"I'm so sorry that we're late." Harry said as they met Amelia in the lobby of the office.

"It's quite alright. Now we have three flats to go through today. Let's get started now." She held out a key that had a blue veil over it; a portkey. They all grabbed onto it and started to spiral through a white fog. Soon they arrived in front of a flat that was across from a park. It had white siding with red shutters and also included a little lawn in the front that was cut in half by a narrow pathway. "This is a small flat with two bedrooms, three bathrooms, a study, a kitchen, a dining room, and a living room. Also includes other closets and a deck on the back. This is a muggle neighborhood, where no other wizards live. The press shouldn't be familiar with this street." Harry nodded. It was nice and cozy but something about it didn't seem right.

"Well, if no other wizard lives on this street, then why is a wizard real estate agent selling it?"

"Because the previous owner was a witch, she has gotten married and moved in with her husband." Harry and Ginny both nodded.

"That's odd." Ginny whispered in his ear. Harry tilted his head to see what she meant. "I'll tell you later."

"Well, I'll let you walk around for a while. Just come to me if you have any questions." Amelia left them to discuss.

"So what's so odd about a girl getting married and moving out?" Harry asked once Amelia was gone.

"Well, to get married, you have to plan and get engaged. Planning can take months. That means some oaf proposed during the war. When people were missing or dying. How could anyone be so oblivious to that?" Ginny was making sense. Why would anyone propose during the war, would be a question never answered. They left the foyer then went into the kitchen. It was small, with white tiled floors. The cabinets were dark brown and the counter tops were a lighter shade of wood. The kitchen connected to the dining room. The dining room was small, with a rose carpet and crème walls. Harry looked at Ginny and wrinkled his nose. The house, so far, was extremely girly; nothing like Harry at all. They went into the living room. The living room at light pink walls with the same rose carpet.

"Okay, not only was this girl stupid for getting engaged during the war, but now has no taste in décor. I mean, come on, you can't put pink walls with rose carpeting. It doesn't match!" Ginny said shaking her head in disbelief. Harry chuckled.

"Um, Ginny, your mum is showing."

"What! I am nothing like my mum!"

"Gin, you just totally judged a girl by her decision on marriage and then her décor. Does that not sound like you mum?" Ginny paled, _Oh no! I am like my mum. _

"What about you Potter; what do you think of the colors? I think they match you perfectly." Ginny said grinning because she had a come back.

"I think it would be a nice bachlorette pad, but nothing for a guy. I don't understand what Amelia was thinking."

"Maybe, that this house reflects you perfectly." Harry stuck his tongue out this time since he had nothing better to say.

"Let's go to Amelia and tell her that we don't like it." Ginny took Harry's hand and nodded. Even to her the house seemed too feminine.

"Um, Amelia, this house is too girly for me. Can we go to the next one?" Amelia looked disappointed, but she nodded. She held out another key with a blue veil. They disappeared and landed in front of another flat, but this one was very different. It had grayish brown bricks with black shutters. It didn't have a lawn or a pathway. But it had steps that led to a small porch. They entered the house and Amelia spoke again.

"Alright, this one is a small flat with, three bedrooms and three bathrooms. It also has a study, a living room, a kitchen with dining area, and a sitting room. There are four other wizards on the street, so the press might be fairly familiar with this area. Again ask me if there are any questions." She left the couple to discuss again. Ginny shrugged, the house seemed okay but a little depressing.

"The outside looked a little like Grimmauld Place." Harry nodded; he totally agreed. They went into the living room first. It had dark blue walls with white crown molding, and dark wood floors. It had no windows but it did have a fireplace. They went into the kitchen next. It had the same floors and walls. The cabinets matched the floor but the counter tops were a black marble.

"So far it seems pretty nice. At least these people had some brains." Ginny talked quietly in case Amelia was listening in. They left the kitchen and proceeded to the first bathroom. It had olive green walls with black tile flooring. "These people were either Ravenclaw or Slytherin."

"I'm thinking Ravenclaw because they used Slytherin in the bathroom." Harry said looking around.

"And why does that mean anything?"

"It probably means that they thought Slytherins were worth a crappy room." Harry said laughing at his idea.

"Oh Merlin, Harry. Only you have those thoughts. Other sane people don't." Harry shrugged even though he was completely sure that that he was right. They left the bathroom and went up the stairs. They went into the first room they could find. It had gold and maroon striped walls with light tan wood floors. It also included two windows. Ginny looked over at Harry with confusion.

"Ravenclaw kitchen and living room, Slytherin bathroom, and a Gryffindor bedroom, I don't understand." Harry had the same thoughts. Why would anyone have three houses in their house? He would understand two houses because a husband and wife could be from different houses. But then why would they have another house's colors? They left that room then went into the next. It was the master bedroom but it had Yellow walls with black carpet. Plus it had three windows and had a connected bathroom. "I think if anything, the parents were Hufflepuff, because why else would they paint their bedroom yellow and black?"

"But if they were Hufflepuff, why would they paint the rest of their house different houses' colors?" Ginny shrugged. These people must have been odd. Even odder than Luna Lovegood, and that meant something. They went into the last room and it had multicolored walls; one wall was maroon, one was yellow, one was green, and lastly one was blue. It also had a connected bathroom and two windows on the maroon wall. The floor was the same black carpet that was in the master bedroom. Harry looked at Ginny; she seemed completely intrigued with all the house colors in one flat. The couple called Amelia up to them.

"Is there anything wrong?"

"No, just why do these people have all Hogwarts colors in their house?"

"I think because they were one of those mad citizens that believed in peace between the four houses. The couple told me they believed that the reincarnated founders of Hogwarts will find tranquility and peace once they meet again. The peace part I think has a chance of happening. But the whole reincarnation thing doesn't seem likely."

"That makes sense why they would put all four colors in their home. But, maybe it's just me, but I don't think that Godric Gryffindor, or Helga Hufflepuff, or Rowena Ravenclaw, or even Salazar Slytherin will come back to life. That seems like a load of rubbish." Ginny said holding her hands up like she was surrendering to someone. Amelia nodded.

"I'm right there with you! Anyway, did you find this house satisfactory?" Harry looked at Ginny; they both simultaneously wrinkled their noses. Harry looked back at Amelia and shook his head. At first it was nice, but he couldn't see him living here.

"Well, we have one more flat and I think you'll like this one."

**A/N: Again please review! I love listening to other's point of views! Thanks :)**


	13. Chapter 13

They stood in front of a small flat across from a pond. It had brown bricks with dark red shutters and doors. It had a little yard with a pathway cutting across it. The three walked up the stairs and into the house. The foyer was nothing special. It had dark brown wood floors with maroon walls.

"This house was own by Gryffindors like yourselves. It is very well kept, I can assure you that. This flat contains three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a kitchen, a dining room, a living room, and a spare room that can be used as a study or sitting room. There is also a deck in the back of the house, with another yard back there as well. Call me if you have any questions." Amelia left Harry and Ginny in private.

"At least we know that it was owned by Gryffindors. I mean, there won't be a dark past behind this home." Ginny said lightening the mood. They went into the kitchen first; it had the same floors as the foyer, and the same maroon walls. The cabinets matched the flooring, but they had windows in each one. "Harry, that means you have to keep the cabinets neat." Harry chuckled at her reference.

"Gin, I don't really think I'll have many visitors. So, there is really no reason to keep anything neat."

They left the kitchen and went into the dining room. It had the same floors as the other rooms, but the walls were crème with thin gold diagonals. The diagonals were spread about a foot in between each. There were three windows and a door that led to the deck. Each window had a flower pot on the sill with dark red roses in each. The couple proceeded to the deck. It was made of dark wood and had a gate that led to the back yard. It was nothing special but that's what Harry needed. Harry and Ginny left the deck and entered the living room. The walls and floors were the same as the dining room. It had two windows and had a brick fireplace, which was good because they could get it registered into the Floo Network. They went up the stair and looked through all the bedrooms and spare room. They all were decorated the same. "

"So, the entire house has all the same floors and one of the two paint jobs. It nothing special but I like it." Harry told Ginny when they were walking back downstairs. "I can see myself living here. It's just temporary, you know. But if I buy it I'll be in charge of how many homes?"

"Er, like five houses." Harry ran through his options. He couldn't sell Grimmauld Place because that means that Kreacher wouldn't work for him anymore. And truth be told, Harry started to grow fond of him. He probably couldn't sell the Potter Manor because the name gave it away. It had been apart of his ancestors property for many generations. But he didn't need a big house; he just needed a flat that wasn't Grimmauld Place.

"Gin, call me barmy, but I think I'm going to buy this place. And when I'm out of auror training, I would move out."

"Wait, you're not going to go back to Hogwarts and finish your seventh year?" Ginny wanted so badly for Harry to come to Hogwarts with her. Harry shook his head, he was going to ask Ron if he was going to go back. He already knew Hermione would go just because she's Hermione.

"I mean what's the point of going back if Dumbledore's not there. Kingsley sent me a letter a long time ago asking me if I wanted to become an auror without finishing school. I think I'm going to take it."

"But, what if Ron goes, and Hermione goes too. That means you won't have anyone to talk to. What if you go back to being a drunk?" This wasn't the reason why Ginny didn't want him to stay. The real reason was that she didn't want him to find someone better than her. He does get around fifty to sixty letters from witches a day.

"Ginny, trust me that whole part is over. Anyway I know that that's not what bothers you," Ginny looked up into his green eyes as he grabbed her shoulders. "You're afraid that someone else will catch my eye." Ginny nodded he always knew exactly what she thinks. "Trust me Gin, no one compares to you, you're the only redhead for me. No one else can compare to you." Ginny now had tears in her eyes. "But you have to promise me that no other bloke will catch your eye."

"Harry, I've loved you since I was seven. I may have just dated boys to keep my mind off you. But now, why would I even try to lose you?"

"I love you, Ginny Weasley."

"I love you too, Harry Potter."


	14. Chapter 14

"Well, how do you like this flat?" Amelia asked when the couple approached her.

"I actually would like to buy it, what was the price again?"

"200,000 galleons."

"Okay, I'll buy it then." Ginny chuckled at Harry's awkwardness.

"Alright then, I'll have to have you return to my office and sign the paper work." Amelia held out a badge with a blue veil on it. The two grabbed it and landed in the real estate office that they were in just an hour and a half ago. "Okay let's go get the paper work done and then the house is yours."

They went back into the cramped office and sat in the same seats as before. After an hour of signing the same thing over and over again, the couple left the real estate office.

"Hey Gin, I don't really want the furniture that is in Grimmauld Place. I was wondering if you'd mind shopping for furniture tomorrow." Ginny nodded her head then a confused expression crept onto her face.

"Wait, why not now?"

"Because its 6:30 and you should be home for your family dinner." Ginny gasped.

"Oh my god, it's already the evening. But the day went by so fast. Harry, you know Mum will want you to stay for dinner right?" Harry nodded his head.

"But I already took you away for a day. I don't want to intrude. So I'll drop you off and say good night to the family." Ginny shook her head.

"You wish it would be that simple. Mum won't let you get by that easy. She'll keep you until every pub in Britain is closed for the night." Harry chuckled under his breath. Ginny was absolutely right, her mum wasn't going to let him eat Kreacher's food either. Harry and Ginny held hands and they apparated back to the Burrow.

"Mum, I'm home!" Ginny called out from the foyer.

"Is Harry there with you? I can't let him leave without having dinner with us first!"

"Yeah he's here." Then, Ginny turned to Harry and whispered, "Told you so." They walked into the kitchen where Molly was cooking.

"Oh, how was your day, dears?"

"It was good, Mum. Harry is going to move out of Grimmauld Place and move to another flat that's a lot cleaner and cheerful." Molly nodded.

"It's about time, Harry! Have you bought it?"

"Yeah he bought it today. Then we went to a meeting with Kingsley. And also went to meet little Teddy! Can I say how much cuter he is since we last saw him, Mum!"

"Wait, you saw him before?" Harry asked completely confused.

"Harry, when we were in hiding with Remus and Tonks. We were one of the firsts to see the baby." Ginny said. _I forgot to tell him that, didn't I. He's going to think that I'm not telling him things. He told me basically, his life story after the battle. And I can't tell him a small fact. What does he think of me? _She thought to herself.

"Oh. No wonder he seemed so familiar and relaxed with you." Harry said smiling at her. _He's not mad! Thank you, Merlin! _

"Alright well, dinner will be ready in ten minutes. Everyone else is in the living room." Harry and Ginny nodded and left to go into the living room.

"Oh, you're home! How was your day?" Ron asked with a sly grin on his face.

"What are you playing at?" Ginny asked.

"Oh, just a new issue of the Daily Prophet came out today." Hermione starting scowling at her boyfriend for joking about the revolting article.

"What? But what was it about?"

"Oh just you two, and your new home."

"_Our _new home. You mean _Harry's _new home, right?"

"According to the Daily Prophet it's for the two of you." George and Charlie started to laugh at Harry's confusion towards what Ron was saying. "How about you read it." Ron handed him a copy.

* * *

**The Chosen One and Someone New?**

We have some interesting news on our Savior of the Wizarding Worlds personal life. We all thought that Potter was going through a type of depression, but is there someone who is helping him. Ginevra Weasley, Ron Weasley's sister, seems to be catching Potter's eye. But why would Potter choose her? He could get any girl but, he dates her? We caught a picture of the couple in Diagon Alley today. They were going to Mademoiselle Market, to buy real estate. We followed the couple into the office and found them talking to the one and only Amelia Frankfort. Frankfort was willing to tell us all the details about this couple, _"Yes, I could tell that they were a couple. They seemed happy together, like they were in love. They came in wanting a Temporary flat. I will not tell you where it is because that is confidential. When they went to see the houses, they never stopped holding hands and whispering in low voices. I'm almost absolutely sure that they bought the flat for the two of them. I remember them saying something about getting away from Ginevra's family." _But why would he choose her? We believe that she is spiking his morning pumpkin juice with love potion. Or could she be confunding him of some sort. Maybe even one of the unforgivable curses. We will be following them to see where Potter's new house is, and if she is living with him. More reports soon.

* * *

Harry looked up at the Weasley family. They all were wearing an unreadable expression, like they were waiting for some sort of confession.

"Almost everything in there is a lie." Harry said completely calm. He was telling the truth. They could even slip him Veritiserum and he would be saying the exact same thing.

"Well, can you tell us which parts are the truth and which parts are lies?"

"I'll start with the lies. First and fore most, that flat is just for me while I'm in auror training. I can't live in Grimmauld Place anymore. Then, Ginny never said anything about leaving you guys. Where Ginny lives never even came up. The truths are that we're a couple… I think everyone knows that. Um, when we were looking at the flats, yes, me and Ginny were speaking in hushed voices because of Amelia listening in." Harry finished then Ron turned to Ginny.

"So what about you?"

"What about me?"

"Have you spiked Harry's pumpkin juice or Confunded him or even used one of the three unforgivable curses?" Ginny was totally and utterly offended that her own brother would ask something like that.

"No! Why would I do that? First of all, the Carrows didn't get around to teaching us that, because they spent too much time on the Cruciatus curse. Second of all, I don't sink that low to get a boy to like me back. And lastly, I've always thought that those stupid love potions were barbaric." Ron's ears turned red. He shouldn't have crossed Ginny's lines.

"Dinner's ready!" Molly's voice rang through the living room.

"Alright, Ron drop it, Ginny don't you dare bat-bogey hex him. And Harry, are you staying for dinner?" Arthur asked, Harry looked at Ginny.

"Yes, he is if he likes it or not." Harry sighed; he knew he couldn't win this battle. So he just surrendered and ate with the Weasleys. Everyone took their seats at the dinner table. It had been the same seating arrangements as before.

"So, Harry, you said you were going out for auror training. When did you make that decision?" Arthur said between all the munching of food. Everyone went silent.

"Well, it hasn't been official yet. I mean, I don't want to go back to Hogwarts. And I want to be an auror. I was actually going to ask Ron what his decision was." Everyone turned to Ron.

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. I was going to go to auror training if you were. I was planning on bringing it up after dinner, but…" Hermione then gasped.

"But, don't you two want to finish your years at Hogwarts? I mean you could learn so much this year. And you can take your examinations and everything so you would be even a better fit to be aurors." Hermione kept talking faster and faster.

"Mione, I was never good at school. I don't want to go back and fail my examinations and have this opportunity to be thrown out the window."

"I know that but, then we wouldn't be together for an entire year."

"You're going back to school?"

"Yes, of course, I would like to finish my education."

"But are you going to become an auror. Kingsley did ask you, didn't he?"

"Yes, he did. But I don't want to be an auror. I mean it seems cool and everything. But the 'saving the world' thing is more up your guys' alleyway. I think I would like to take SPEW to the next level. Or help from the sidelines, you know, like Magical Law enforcement." Everyone but Harry and Ginny were shocked in what Hermione's plans were.

"I didn't expect the last part about SPEW. But I could predict everything else." Ginny said laughing at her thought.

"Well, not that last year was fun… I guess, and don't take this the wrong way, Harry. But I was only fighting to help Harry and Ron. I planned on stopping after the war was over."

"It's okay Hermione. I don't mind. It's your decision." Harry said smiling. It made Hermione feel at ease that he didn't find that offensive. She meant what she said, and it was a great learning experience for her. She just couldn't help but hate to fight.

"Well, what about you, Ginny?"

"Why do you always take things back to me, Ron?"

"Because you have been staying silent this entire time."

"Well, I plan on going back to Hogwarts. Mainly because mum would murder me if I didn't. Then I plan on playing Quidditch."

"That seems reasonable. But, I've never even seen you play Quidditch before. You can't be fit to play with the pros." Charlie said, while Percy and Bill nodded.

"Oi, she was the reason we won the House Cup sixth year. Well, she shot about seventeen goals, while I blocked nearly everyone that came my way. But still we wouldn't have won without her."

"Wait, didn't Harry catch the snitch?" George said calling out on Ron's left out details.

"No. Harry decided to get detention with Snape that day." Ginny said in a frightening tone. She rolled her eyes as he turned red.

"Wow, you Potter's know how to get on teachers' bad sides before games, don't you?" Arthur said laughing.

"What do you mean? Did my dad do that too?"

"Yes, I think it was fifth year and seventh year for him. He got detention before the big game, which sacrificed the big game."

"Like father like son, except this time the Weasleys saved the day!" Ron said leaning back in his chair.

"Ron, sit up!" Molly said sternly.

"Yes, Mum." Ron said quickly cowering to his mother and sitting up. Hermione chuckled at it, such a scaredy-cat.


	15. Chapter 15

"Alright, Harry, I'll see you tomorrow." Ginny said before closing the front door of the Burrow. She climbed up the stairs up to her and Hermione's room. When she got there Hermione was frantically waiting for her.

"Hermione, what's wrong?" Hermione was pacing back and forth.

"I've never gone to Hogwarts without Ron or Harry. I can't believe they aren't coming."

"I know. But I've been to Hogwarts without any of you. It's wasn't that different except for a few little details." Hermione cocked up her right eye brow.

"Those little details being," she shrugged her shoulders and looked up at the ceiling for a second, "the usual, torturing your friends, only getting fed dinner, getting slapped or punched or even cut across the face. You know all the usual things that happen at school." Ginny, who was sitting on her bed, looked up at Hermione.

"How did you know?"

"Ginny, I'm not an idiot. I talked to Neville. He asked me if you doing okay. And I asked him why you wouldn't be. And he told me everything. Does Harry know?" Ginny rolled her eyes than swung her legs to face Hermione.

"No, he doesn't. And I don't plan on telling him. And next time you see Neville, tell him that I'm alright, but he won't be. Maybe he's forgotten that we were professionally trained to use the Cruciatus Curse last year."

"Ginny I'm not telling him that. I mean, I already told him you were okay, but I'm not going to tell him that you were threatening him. Why would you keep this away from your family? I told you almost everything."

"And I told you guys almost everything too."

"Ginny, telling us that you kept your head down and did what you were told to do, isn't considered 'almost everything'. It's considered the exact opposite. Ginny, you can't lie to them your entire lifetime." Hermione took a seat next to her.

"And I don't plan to. I plan on telling them when it's such a long time ago that they can't get mad at me. I wasn't going to stand by and do nothing, Hermione. I was just doing what Harry did in his fifth year."

"And look where it got him, Gin. He now has scars on his hand, and he lost his godfather. Plus he went through a small depression. You're lucky that none of that happened to you."

"Nope. Just a few scars on my arms and one on my face that's easily covered with makeup. Plus Madame Pomphrey promised me that, next year at Hogwarts, she'd have a potion to put on it that would help it fade faster."

"So, basically, you're going to keep it away from them until you're in your thirties. Now that you have a remedy for your scars, your going to just slide through life, aren't you?"

"Hermione, you know I didn't mean it like that. I mean it would help me recover from the trauma faster. And anyways, I never said I was going to wait until I was in my thirties." Hermione cocked her eye brow up again, "Maybe my twenties."

"How about this, you tell Harry as soon as possible. Then you can tell your family afterwards. That way you're not lying to him and you can live happily ever after."

"What's with the sarcasm? Just because I don't want to talk about the worst time in my life, you decide to force me to think about it."

"Ginny, I'm not trying to force you or pressure you. I'm trying to make sure that you're not going mad! Ginny, Neville told me some horrid details about last year. And I'm worried about you. Actually, I think you were mad for all the things you did last year."

"Give me details of some of the mad things you're talking about."

"Like telling off death eaters, Running Dumbledore's Army again, and breaking every rule possible, just to annoy the Carrows."

"I'm done talking about this." Ginny said turning off her lamp and lied down for the night. Hermione stood up and shook her head. It wasn't her business to tell Ginny's family, but she felt like she needed to. _I can trust Ginny; she'll tell them when she's ready. And if she doesn't, I'll talk to her again. _Hermione lied down in her bed and slowly drifted to sleep.

Harry apparated to Grimmauld Place. That was the best day he had in a while. The information that Ron was going to go to auror training with him lifted his spirits. And Hermione going to Hogwarts lifted his guilt of leaving Ginny there again. He really had the greatest friends and family. They stuck together until the end. They were unstoppable. He looked down at his feet before he went inside. There, on his front step, was the issue of the Daily Prophet. He picked it up and went inside. He took it to his study and added it to the pile of newspapers. His attention was directed to the letters that Hermione sent him a while back. He couldn't read them again. They depressed him too much. He through them into a paper box along with the newspapers. He took a quill and wrote on the box: _Old letters and newspapers. _He planned to keep all of the letters and newspapers that included him or Ginny and stash him in that box. Maybe if it gets too full, he'd add an undetected extension charm to it. But now it was time to sleep and, soon, wake up to a new day.


	16. Chapter 16

"Welcome to Fine Furniture! How are you today?" The saleslady spoke in a welcoming tone. Ginny seemed completely intrigued with the way a muggle store looked.

"Good, Thank you." Harry replied back.

"Well, my name is Mary, if you need anything." Harry nodded and walked over to the dining room furniture.

"Okay, I'm going to need a dining room table, which one do you like?" Ginny walked over to every one of the tables. When she chose her top two favorites, she sneaked a peak at the price tag. "Gin, don't look at the price tag, I don't care about the price."

"Harry, you're a multi-trillionaire in galleons or whatever. How much muggle money do you have?"

"I converted some galleons for muggle money. I'm fine. So which one of the two do you like?"

"You're the one who will be living there, you choose."

"Ginny, like you even said I'm terrible at décor, I'm not mocking you; I'm agreeing with you. So, which one do you think will look good?"

"Well, this one matches the cabinets that are in the kitchen, but it's a bit long. The other one is shorter but is a shade lighter than the cabinets."

"Well, I have to have a longer table."

"Why? It's only going to be you and occasionally Teddy living there….right?"

"But what about your family? What if I want to serve them dinner for once? I don't plan on being cooped up in there all alone." Harry said smiling.

"Okay, so if you like it, the longer one. What do you need next?"

"The living room, so, couches, side tables, a coffee table, lamps, maybe even a chest." They walked to the living room section of the huge store.

"Okay, let's start with the sofa. What color do you want?"

"Well, what would match the walls?"

"Well, the walls are crème and gold, so, crème, gold, black, maroon, or brown."

"I think the maroon will look cool, I mean it is already a Gryffindor themed house, why not go all the way out?"

"Okay, maroon it is." They went through this routine with every piece of furniture. They bought beds, wardrobes, dishes, a desk and more.

"Alright the furniture will be delivered in two days. Anything else?"

"No that'll be all, thank you." They left the muggle store and started to walk the streets of London.

"Are you hungry, Gin?" Harry asked after walking three quarters of the way to the alleyway where they apparate in and out of.

"Sure." Ginny said looking down. Harry noticed that she was acting strange the entire day. He rethought his actions from the day before to make sure he hadn't done anything that would offend her. He said nothing offensive, hadn't done anything wrong, so why was Ginny acting so disturbed?

"Well, what are you in the mood for?"

"Um, ice cream would be okay." She said looking at the ice cream parlor that stood in front of them.

"Okay." They bought their ice cream and sat down. "Ginny, what's going on?"

"What do you mean? Everything is fine." Ginny said licking the ice cream guiltily.

"Ginny, I may be an idiot on some levels, but I'm not completely stupid. I can tell something is bothering you."

"You're not an idiot! Why would you think of yourself like that? You are Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived Twice, Savior of the Wizarding World, and all. You can't be an idiot to hold those titles."

"Ginny, don't try and change the subject. Something is bothering you. So, what is it?" Ginny looked down at the table. She couldn't look into those green eyes.

"It's just a talk that I had with Hermione yesterday. It's been on my mind since I woke up."

"Okay, then, what was the talk about?" Ginny looked out the window.

"Nothing worth talking about again."

"Well, if it's bothering you this much, obviously it is." Ginny finally looked in his eyes.

"Harry, have you ever felt that if you tell someone about what you did, even though it was the right thing, they'd get mad at you?"

"Can you be more specific? Like it matters, if you were telling me, probably not, if you were telling someone like your mum and it was dangerous, than yes, I think that they'd get frustrated with you. But not mad at you. If they scold you or yell at you, it's just because they love you and are looking out for you. Can you tell me who this person is?"

"Well, it's more than one person; it's my entire family. And Hermione is almost black mailing me to tell them."

"What do you mean 'almost black mailing you' its either she is or she isn't."

"Well, thinking about that talk, she almost gave me the impression that if I don't tell them, then she will. I know she's only trying to help me and that she is concerned about me. And I love her for doing that. But sometimes it's hard to think about."

"Well, you can always tell me. I am your boyfriend. I will listen to you, Gin. Or you can tell me the general outline and we can move from there."

"Basically, last year at Hogwarts wasn't the best year. Or in other words….Hermione may not have been the only one tortured last year."

"What? They tortured you?"

"Well, not exactly. They were torturing everyone. It wasn't just me. And I can tell you it wasn't that many times. Maybe once or twice a year, not even, but Hermione is keen on making me tell my family that I was brutally tortured and I should be checked to see if I was going mad."

"Ginny, your not making any sense, did you or did you not get tortured last year."

"Harry…"

"Ginny, did you?" Ginny hesitated for a moment then nodded. "How many times did it happen?"

"Like I said, once or twice not even, and it was for some really stupid mistakes. I deserved what I got. But I'm fine now."

"No mistakes are worth an unforgivable curse. What did you do to 'deserve' that?" Harry face showed the sympathetic and concerned expression and his voice was calm and collected yet concerned. Truth was, Harry was concerned. Ginny couldn't possibly get tortured. She was too strong, too smart for that.

"Harry, you told me you wouldn't get mad. But, can we talk about this somewhere else. I don't want to take the cheerfulness out of an ice cream parlor." Harry nodded. They threw away their ice cream because their appetite was ruined by the thought. They walked to the alleyway in silence. Harry wasn't mad at Ginny and Ginny wasn't mad at Harry. She knew that he wasn't mad, more concerned than anything else. They apparated to Grimmauld Place and immediately took a seat in the living room.

"Well, what happened?"

"Like I said, it was only once or twice. But it was for a good cause. I don't think any of you know that Neville, Luna, and I started up Dumbledore's Army. Well, actually, Hermione figured that out by herself." Harry sat there waiting to hear he stories. "It was the first week of school and a young girl accidentally spoke out of term in Dark Arts."

"You mean Defense against the Dark Arts, right?" Ginny shook her head.

"No, they renamed the class to Dark Arts because the whole Defense part was discontinued. Anyway a girl spoke out of term when I specifically told anyone that was fourth year or younger not to do. Right when Amycus Carrow was about to say the incantation, I jumped in front of her, so, instead he crucioed me."

"Ginny, why were they even apart of Dumbledore's Army. I'm sorry but if you're younger than fourth year, DA is too intense for you. Wait, they couldn't have gotten the idea to fight back on their own, someone must have done it before." Ginny cowered in her seat, and looked down at her feet. "Ginny, did you do that too?" Ginny looked toward the fireplace. Again she couldn't look into those green eyes.

"Harry, you said you wouldn't get mad at me."

"I'm not mad, I'm just confused. Why would you do that?"

"Harry, you did it too! I won't be able to forget about your first DADA class with Umbridge."

"Yeah, Gin, look where that got me. I went through so much that year. And you thought it would be wise to reenact that?"

"No, I wasn't reenacting what you did. I wasn't letting them say anything bad about 'my kind'."

"What do you mean 'your kind'?"

"As in blood traitors, you know, like pure bloods that teamed with muggle-borns. That's the other reason I got crucioed. But trust me, that was the only times." Harry nodded, all this information was overwhelming. Ginny got up and turned around. She started to walk towards the front door like she was going to leave but before she could; Harry wrapped his hands around her waist and turned her around.

"Ginny, I'm not angry, I'm not disappointed in you, I'm proud of you. You fought for what you believed was right. I can't ask you to do better. I wish you didn't, of course. I mean, they could have killed you and thought nothing of it. But I can't ask for the world. Ginny, just promise me that you will tell the entire truth when your ready. I'm glad that you told me a little, but I'd like to know what really happen one day, okay?" Ginny nodded.

"Thanks for listening. I can't ask for you to do better, too. But I don't want to tell Mum about it. What should I do?"

"I'll talk to Hermione and tell her you told me everything. Maybe I can talk her out of her deal. Maybe she'll settle with the fact that you told me and will tell someone else someday."

"Okay, Harry. So, what now?"

"How about I take you home? It's getting late."

"Harry, it's only two o'clock."

"Yeah, and that's pretty late. Besides Ron and Hermione want to go out for a drink tonight. And I said I'll go with them."

"Ooh! Can I come too?"

"Gin, you know you're underage, right?" Ginny nodded but she looked like she was still enthusiastic to come. "Well if your mum lets you come, you can come. But if she doesn't then you can't." Ginny wrapped her arms around his neck and nodded.

"Fair enough." Harry took Ginny by the waist and apparated to the Burrow.

**A/N: Don't worry a plot twist will happen soon!**


	17. Chapter 17

"Please, Mum?"

"No! You're under aged and I don't want you out somewhere getting drunk."

"I'm not going to get drunk, Mum. I'm smarter than that. Anyway, don't you agree that it will be awkward for Harry if he goes alone with Hermione and Ron?"

"And how will it be awkward for him? They are his best friends."

"But they're a couple now. They are going to be completely ignorant to him. Or they'll be sending goo-goo eyes to each other and Harry will be miserable watching them. If I go, he would have something to do when they are going romantic."

"I'm worried about your words."

"What? What possibly did I say wrong?"

"'Harry will have something to do' that's a little worrying, Ginerva."

"Mum, you know what I meant, like talking. Anyway, can I please go with them?"

"Well, if the three of them say you can then I guess you can go."

"Yay! Thanks Mum!" Ginny hugged her mother than went to go find Ron and Hermione. She already had Harry's yes. Now it was just convincing Ron to let her come. Hermione would always be a yes. She loved having another girl around mostly for girl talk and different things like that.

"Oh, hey Ginny, what's going on?"

"Well, Harry said I could come along tonight to the pub. And Mum said that it would be all right if you guys said yes too." Ron was just trying to teach Hermione how to play wizards chess. He dropped one of his pieces and looked up at her.

"Why would Harry invite you? I mean, I know you're his girlfriend and everything but this was supposed to be just the three of us."

"Well maybe for the fact that you and Hermione will be all over each other and Harry might get a bit lonesome. So, Harry wants to bring someone to talk to while you guys are ignoring him."

"We won't be ignoring him and so what if we're a couple. We won't completely black him out of our memories."

"He doesn't think that, Ron. I'm just coming to keep him company while you two are snogging." Hermione turned bright red. The truth was that Ron and Hermione hadn't kissed since the battle. Yes, they were a couple and they both were completely sure that they loved each other. But whenever they came close to leaning in, someone would either disrupt them (George), or something awkward would happen that would make them feel uncomfortable. Like the last time they were alone and about to kiss, Hermione looked over Ron's shoulder and saw a picture of them and Harry back in first year. She couldn't kiss him in front of the three eleven year olds. That would be just plain weird.

"RONALD! GET DOWN HERE AND SET THE TABLE!" Molly called from the kitchen. Dinner was going to be ready in twenty minutes. Harry had gone home to get changed, leaving Ginny to ask her family if she could go alone. Ron groaned and went downstairs. Hermione sat there in deep thought. Ginny noticed this and sat down where Ron was just sitting nearly ten seconds ago.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, it's nothing." Hermione said watching her hands.

"Really? I know that's a lie. You started acting all weird after I mentioned you two snogging. So, what's wrong? Is Ron a bad kisser or are you?" Ginny was smiling at her observation. She knew Hermione wouldn't tell her that. But it was fun to give Hermione grief.

"No, no, no. It's nothing like that. It's something else."

"Have you and Ron even snogged before?"

"Once. That's the problem. We've been together for about a month now and we've only snogged once. Do you see how wrong that is?"

"Hermione, Me and Harry have only snogged once since we got back together."

"Yeah, but that's different. Harry just came out of a depression and you two have only been together for about a week. And you guys were together before. How many times have you snogged since your fifth year?"

"Well, I don't know. Maybe, twenty times at most. But most of them were just pecks! And mostly just to gross out Ron!"

"Exactly. You dated for six weeks and kissed around eighteen times. I've been together with Ron for four weeks and we've kissed once."

"Well, then tonight is your chance. Especially now that I'm coming with you. I can take Harry away to give you guys some privacy."

"I think that's what will make it awkward for me. Harry will be there. The last time I almost kissed Ron, I looked over at a picture of the three of us when we were eleven and I got uncomfortable. IT WAS A MERE PICTURE!" Ginny laughed at Hermione's insecurity.

"Oh, Hermione. You just have to block all that out of your mind." Hermione nodded. She seemed nervous for once in her lifetime. She shouldn't be nervous to kiss her own boyfriend, but she was. But little to her knowledge was that that feeling was going to go away real soon.

**A/N: Sorry for the awkward chapter. It was more to show my love for Romione. Don't worry next chapter will be better.**


	18. Chapter 18

"Alright, please be back by midnight. Don't get too drunk, please. Ginny I want you to watch Harry closely!" Molly waved as the kids left the house. They weren't kids anymore but to her they would always be her kids. No matter how much they grow up, no matter how many kids they have, they'd always be her kids. They apparated to a pub right outside Bristol. Ginny's arm was linked with Harry, and Hermione's with Ron. Harry gave Ron a subtle nod and they entered the pub. Harry kept his head down. He really didn't want to be recognized tonight. It was going to be his first night of fun since the battle and he didn't want any fan girls or reporters to ruin it. If only that wish came true.

"Hello. How about we start you lot off with a drink." The waitress said to them with a pad of parchment in her hand.

"Um, Can I just have a butter beer?" Ginny asked fingers intertwined with Harry's.

"I'll have a butter beer too." Hermione said with Ron's arm around her shoulder.

"Well, I'm going to have a firewhiskey." Ron said looking around at the table.

"Same, firewhiskey, please." Harry said laughing at Ron's awkwardness.

"Okay I'll go get those drinks for you." The waitress left the group to themselves.

"How long do you think we can stay here before reporters find us?" Ron said with a sly grin.

"Ron, don't jinx it. Harry already is keeping his head down. Something Ginny should learn to do." Hermione said glances at Ginny. Ginny didn't realize what Hermione said until the waitress served them their drinks. They nodded their head to her before she left. Then Ginny's scowling started. "What?" Hermione asked innocently.

"That wasn't funny, Hermione."

"Am I the only one here who is confused." Ron said to Harry while pointing to the girls. Harry shook his head. He didn't want to tell Ron that he knew what all of it was about. He didn't want to cause a scene, and with a scene you get reporters, and with reporters you get an article in the Daily Prophet, and with an article you get to explain what happened to the entire Weasley family who wasn't there in person to see

"Ooh, Harry. Look! It's Luna Lovegood! Let's go talk to her! Don't worry you two, we'll be back." Ginny winked at Hermione and took Harry away from the table. Hermione nodded then looked at Ron.

"Hey Luna! I haven't seen you in forever!" Ginny said hugging her friend.

"Hey Ginny! I've been busy with my father. Did you know how hard it is to get anyone out of Azkaban! I swear the guards there must have Wrackspurts in their brains. Maybe I should send them the potion I made." She turned to Harry, "Did it work for you?"

"Yeah it helped Harry a lot. He's not drinking anymore." Ginny said smiling at Harry.

"What about the smoking? Wrackspurts usually cause people to feel like they can inhale anything but oxygen."

"We're working on that, still." Ginny said her smile faded a little when she said that. She was almost certain that Harry smoked when he left to go get changed. But she was going to talk to him about that later.

"Oh well I'll send you some more potion. It will help cure your problems faster."

"Okay, Luna. And I'm sorry about your father. I think it was my fault he's in Azkaban." At first Luna was surprised Harry spoke up.

"No. Daddy told me about it. He said he was the one who said You-Know-Who's name because he was going to turn you in for me. But I told him I wasn't worth that. Plus you saved me from You-Know-Who himself. I can't thank you enough, Harry." Harry nodded but he couldn't help but feel guilty about it. "Well, I have to go. I have a meeting with Minister Shacklebolt in a half hour. He said he'll help me get Dad out of there. It was nice talking to the both of you. Ginny, don't forget to owl me soon! Maybe we could meet up sometime."

"Of course, Luna. That would be lovely." Luna waved goodbye and apparated to the Ministry. Ginny turned to Harry with one eyebrow cocked up.

"Did you seriously take the potion Luna gave you?" Harry shook his head.

"No, I just put it in a cabinet. I haven't touched it since. It told me to stick my hands in freezing water and when I can't feel them anymore all the Wrackspurts or Nargles or whatever is gone."

"You know that means, your body is slowly but surely freezing itself right?" Harry laughed and nodded his head.

"I know, Gin. Another reason why I threw it in that cabinet." Ginny laughed and almost started to walk back to the table until she saw Ron and Hermione in a full on snog session.

"Maybe we should just stay here for a bit."

"What why would we- oh…" Harry looked back at her and chuckled.

"Harry don't act all grossed out. It's their first kiss since their first kiss. If that makes sense. In other words, they have only kissed once. Please don't screw it up for them."

"I'm not going to even go close to them right now. It's still a little surreal that they're even together, let alone snogging."

"Well then what should we do?"

"Well, maybe we should find a table of our own. I don't like standing here awkwardly."

"Harry, sitting or standing your awkward."

"Oi!"

"Oh, I'm just kidding Harry. You know I love you!"

"I know. And I love you too." They walked, with Harry's arm around Ginny's waist, while Ginny had one arm around his waist and one hand on his chest."

"Here let's just sit here and wait for them to finish." Harry said pointing to an empty table.

"You know if they don't finish any time soon. Maybe we should just bail. I think this whole going out as a group thing has changed to two couples going out on two separate dates." Ginny said playing with a napkin that was set on the table.

"Which isn't a bad thing." Ginny looked up into Harry's eyes. _Does he mean that? Wait, is he trying to tell me something…_Ginny thought but before she knew it, they were both leaning in. They kissed. This time the kiss did taste like firewhiskey and butter beer. Again, it wasn't a bad thing. They broke apart to take a breath, but were still about an inch apart.

"There's the silver lining I've been looking for." Ginny whispered, her hand was now on the back of his neck and his hand was on her cheek. They kissed again but this time it was more passionate than the first. It felt like it could never be stopped. Until….

* * *

**The Savior has found his Princess**

Here at the Daily Prophet are very surprised to announce that the alleged relationship between out savior and the common girl has been proved. One of our reporters was having a drink after work last was so very lucky to have his camera with him. And even more lucky that Harry James Potter, Hermione Jean Granger, Ronald Billius Weasley, and Ginevra Molly Weasley to stop by that exact pub. _"I stopped by just to have my weekly drink and I spotted four kids at a table, one with bushy brown hair,_[Hermione Jean Granger] _a boy with red hair, _[Ronald Billius Weasley] _a girl with red hair, _[Ginevra Molly Weasley] _and lastly a boy with black hair and glasses _[Harry James Potter]. _I knew that that boy was the Savior of course. He was keeping his head down the entire time. Until the redhead girl took him to a blonde girl. _[Believed to be Xenophilius Lovegood's daughter] _They hugged the girl and spoke to her for a while. I looked back at the other part of the Golden Trio and there they were snogging up a storm. But back to the Savior. He and the girl looked back at their friends and noticed their little romance. They then sat at another table and started to snog her. _[Picture above] _I sneaked a picture and left." _But why would be like her above all the other witches and wizards in the world? The question will be unanswered until we can ambush him with an interview. More reports soon.

* * *

"Looks like you have another cult to look over your shoulder for." George said smirking at Harry. Harry had come over to the Burrow for lunch. The stupid article seemed to be the topic since he arrived.

"That's not funny, George. Harry and Ginny were just publicly humiliated to the entire Wizarding world." Angelina was completely surprised by George's behavior.

"Hey, at least I don't want to hurt Harry. That's all Percy, Charlie, and Bill. Hey, maybe even Ron."

"Thanks George…" Harry said staring at his food.

"Don't worry mate, me and George. Plus Mum and Dad are all on your side." Ron said clapping his hand on his back.

"You all are acting like a war is going to break out as soon as the rest of the family comes home from work." Angelina said rolling her eyes.

"That's because there might be a war. Think about it, Angie. They are the protective brothers of the family. Bill is curse breaker at Gringotts; he knows more curses than Mad-eye Moody did. Charlie tames bloody dragons for a living. And Percy will just team up with them because they're older." George said putting up his hands like he was surrender.

"Still, let Harry be. He didn't do anything wrong." George shrugged it off. Until four other redheaded men entered the room.

"Harry…"


	19. Chapter 19

"Harry. Just stay here I'll handle this." Ginny whispered in his ear. "Look. What if I told you that I kissed him? What if I told you that he wouldn't do anything to hurt you? I already know what you'd say, 'oh that doesn't make a difference' WELL YOU KNOW WHAT I'M TIRED OF YOU GUYS SEEING HARRY AS THE BAD GUY IN THE SITUATION. BECAUSE HE'S NOT. IT'S AS MUCH AS MY FAULT THAT THAT ARTICLE CAME OUT AS HIS. YOU KNOW I'VE BEEN I LOVE WITH HARRY POTTER SINCE I WAS EIGHT…" Once Ginny said that she immediately covered her mouth with her hand. Harry wasn't supposed to know that. It might make him feel uncomfortable.

"Looks like today is just filled with confessions!" George said in his joking manner. He found this entire battle amusing.

"SHUT UP GEORGE! ANYWAY! I CAN TAKE CARE OF MYSELF. I DID IT PERFECTLY WELL LAST YEAR. SINCE THE ONLY ADULTS I WOULD LISTEN TO WERE THREE TEACHERS WHO COULDN'T SEE WHAT WAS GOING ON. YOU GUYS REALLY ARE OUT TO RUIN MY LIFE AREN'T YOU?"

Bill looked enraged, Charlie looked determined, Arthur looked concerned, and Percy looked guilty.

"Ginny what do you mean; you were taking care of yourself last year?" Molly finally spoke up. She never tried to cut into her daughter's arguments until they got out hand. But she couldn't stand it anymore.

"I meant…that…I was the only one in the family there last year." Ginny stuttered to find an answer. She didn't want her mother to worry about her.

"I don't believe that's what you meant by it, Ginny." Molly said pointing at the sofa for her daughter to sit on. Ginny cowered and sat down in the middle of the sofa.

"Fine. If I'm going to tell you then Harry and Hermione are going to sit next to me. They're the only other ones who know the truth." Molly nodded to Harry and Hermione; she meant for them to go ahead and sit next to Ginny. Harry sat next to Ginny and grabbed Ginny's hand. Hermione sat down nodded for her to start. The rest of the family either claimed the rest of the living room furniture or moved the kitchen table seats into the room. "Alright…Um. Hogwarts was run by death eaters, as you all know. And they couldn't care less about the students that were still going there. Especially us."

"Who do you mean by 'us'" Bill asked in an interrogating voice.

"Like, Neville, Luna and Me. Blood traitors as they would call us. Well, actually, I was known as blood traitor. Neville was known as the Witless Traitor, and Luna was known as the Loony Traitor, but we all were pure bloods who were on the 'wrong' side in their opinion. They were so evil, so, we decided to start Dumbledore's Army up again. And it cost me some characteristics that I'll never regret losing."

"As in…what?" Ron asked with wrapped attention.

"As in…being the innocent one of the Weasleys. I told off teachers, wrote on the walls, and broke every rule in the book. I was bloody bad arse. But they had ways to get me back." Ginny looked down at her shoes.

"How did they get you back?" Molly was swinging between terror and anger. Ginny looked up into her mom's eyes. She pulled up her sleeves to show her scars. "How did you get those?" There were about fifteen scars on each arm.

"You know how people always say you learn from your mistakes. Or it only takes once to learn your lesson. Let's just say I never really learned." Ginny looked back down at her scars and winced. She quickly covered them back up with her sleeve. "Then the punishments got a little severe."

"How much more severe?" Arthur asked sitting up straighter with frustration. Ginny raised her wand to her face. She muttered a spell and all of a sudden her make up on her right cheek vanished. Now Ginny didn't look like Ginny anymore. Now she looked like Ginny with the largest and deepest scar on her face.

"Oh my goodness! My baby girl! How could have this happen?" Molly was now crying into her husband's shoulder while he rubbed her back.

"See, this is why I didn't want to tell you! You all were going to react like this! I never wanted to hurt you guys! I should never have told you!" Ginny closed her eyes so her family wouldn't see her cry.

"Ginny. Everyone is alright. You can tell us the next part." Harry said looking into her eyes. _Oh Merlin! Those eyes! _Ginny thought then pulled herself together.

"Well after all this happened. Neville and Luna came up with this brilliant plan that we should send letters to everyone's family saying stuff like, 'We need you to go to Diagon Alley and buy the book _How to Curse People under the Age of Seventeen' or 'Cruciatus for beginners'. _Every one's family got the letter. Well mostly everyone's. I made sure that my letter got separated from the pile."

"Why would you do that? I mean, didn't you want to get out of there?" Charlie asked confused.

"No. I wanted to be left to deal with the Carrows and Slytherins on my own. I don't know why, it kept my mind off things."

"How would that keep your mind off things? You were torturing yourself!" Bill exclaimed completely angry.

"I dunno it just did. More and more kids were taken out of Hogwarts, but it wasn't enough. I decided to give the Carrows hell. But every time I did they brought me down in the dungeons and beat me up. Mcgonagall didn't know. Madame Pomphrey helped me but I never told her what happened."

"Why didn't you, she could have helped?" Bill was still angry

"Because she would have some how contacted you lot and you would take me out of there. But I didn't want to leave. I wanted to stay and fight."

"Why in Merlin's name would you do that?" Hermione asked. Clearly she wasn't told this part.

"Because I felt like I had nothing to live for. And I also felt that if you three could fight and be on the run at the same time, I could too!"

"That wasn't smart, Ginny. They could have killed you!" Molly said

"And they nearly did…." Ginny looked up at all the eyes that were looking at her.

"What did they do to you?" Bill and Charlie said in unison. Ginny stood up and walked out of the room. It was too overwhelming to tell them. Everyone turned to Harry.

"I'll go and see if she's okay." Harry said quickly before getting up and following her. "Ginny! Where are you?" Harry called into the field. He heard Ginny leave through the front door, but she wasn't outside. She must have apparated. He turned back to the living room and ran to the family. "I think she apparated. She ran away…"


	20. Chapter 20

Ginny couldn't believe that her family was pressuring her to talk to them about something not even worth talking about. She knew it was immature that she walked out and apparated. Actually, again, she was repeating Harry's steps. She wasn't going to get drunk or smoke like he did. She was smarter than that. She just needed to get away from them. She was walking down the streets of Muggle London. It was only one o'clock, so, she had plenty time to cool off before she went back to the Burrow and apologize. In the back of her mind she kept thinking about Harry. About how Harry might be worried about her. Or how Harry might be enduring the wrath of the Weasley brothers. But she wasn't going to go back right now. She was going to have some time to herself, and get out of that house. She put on sunglasses from her purse she took from the coat rack before she left. She didn't know where she was going but she kept walking.

She spotted a muggle park with kids playing on the play ground and old couples walking around the pond. Even some young couples walking with strollers in front of them. Her heart melted when she saw a redheaded girl and a man with black hair walking with a stroller in front of them, laughing and enjoying life. She walked into the park and sat on a bench. _What am I thinking? Why did I leave like that? My room was wide opened but no, Ginny Weasley made a scene and ran out the door. I don't even know where I am. Wait a minute…_Ginny noticed the ice cream parlor her and Harry were at yesterday. She knew the way to Harry's new flat from there. _I have nothing better to do. _She walked toward the ice cream parlor then turned right to go to Harry's new flat. She walked with her head down low. Hopefully no one will notice who she was. But right before she turned the corner to go down Harry's new street a flash of light appeared for a second. _Oh not again! _Ginny turned around and saw five reporters, cameras at the ready and parchment with quills in their hands.

"Weasley, is it true that you're dating Harry Potter?"

"Ginevra, have you slipped something into Harry Potter's cup to make him like you?"

"Why are you walking alone?"

"Has Harry Potter finally broken up with you?"

"Stay away from me! The answer is yes. I am dating Harry Potter. No I didn't slip anything into anything. I'm walking alone because I wanted time to myself. And, no, Harry hasn't broken up with me. He loves me and I love him. We dated before he went on the run so I don't understand why this is a big deal. Just please leave me alone." Ginny turned back around and walked towards the other end of the street. She passed right by Harry's flat. She couldn't risk the reporters finding out where he lived. She didn't think that he'd ever forgive her. Which wouldn't happen; Harry would forgive her for a mistake, but she'd still feel guilty. And now she has to come home to a new article with her name on the front of it. What new title could they come up with next?

* * *

**Stay Away From Me!**

We have made this special edition of the Daily Prophet to tell you that, no matter who you are, or what you're doing. Everyone must stay away from Ginevra Molly Weasley. We calmly came to her as she was walking alone on the streets of muggle London. And she told us, _"Stay away from me! I am dating Harry Potter but, I didn't slip anything into anything. I'm walking alone because I wanted time to myself. And Harry hasn't broken up with me, because he loves me and I love him. We dated before he went on the run so I don't understand why this is a big deal. Just leave me alone!" _But why would Ginny Weasley want time to herself? She can go home and have a romantic night with her prince in shining armor but she decided to go out on her own in muggle London? We believe that this innocent girl is having an affair on our savior and that is not allowed. We are going to be watching her to make sure that she doesn't break our chosen one's heart. More Reports Soon.

* * *

Harry sat there at the kitchen table thinking about Ginny. Where could she have gone? She didn't have anywhere else to go but Grimmauld Place and he'd already checked there. They patronused Neville, Luna and Kingsley. They even flooed Andromeda to ask her if she showed up there. But she hadn't.

Suddenly a screech came from outside the window. The entire family, who was sitting at the kitchen table, turned their heads to see what gave that noise. It was an owl that delivers the Daily Prophet everyday. But the Daily Prophet was already delivered today, so why was there another one for the day? The opened the window sill and took the paper from its mouth. Harry glanced at the cover and saw Ginny on a very familiar street. Harry eyes widened as he realized where she was. Everyone looked at him, waiting for what he knew to be vocalized. But he apparated back to his new flat, and saw a redhead leaning up against the counter, back towards him. He considered his options: either say something, which could scare her and make her leave, or go and get her family and tell her he knew where she was, which would also scare her and make her leave. He heard sniffling, she must have been crying. He looked over her shoulder and saw the copy of the Daily Prophet that she was just featured in. He quietly walked up behind her and slid his arms around her waist. She jolted at first but then relaxed when she saw realized who it was. She put her hand behind his head and ran her fingers through his hair.

"Hey." Was the only thing he said to her.

"Hey. How is the family?" She asked still not turning around.

"Worried. But don't worry they still don't know where you are. So what's wrong, Gin?"

"I made a complete fool of myself, that's what." She turned around in Harry's embrace. She now had her arms wrapped around his neck. "Have they seen the article? Actually have you seen the article?" Harry nodded his head then shook his head. "Can you elaborate?"

"Well I'm sure they are reading it now. I just left when I saw the photo of you on my street. And I saw the title. What did it say?" Ginny pulled away from Harry and pushed the newspaper into his chest. She walked toward the back window that displayed the view of the deck and the backyard. Harry read it to himself. _'No matter who you are or what you're doing, everyone must stay away from Ginevra Molly Weasley'. _Harry shook his head at the article. Who ever wrote that will have a serious problem when he gets to them. He put the paper down on the counter and walked back over to Ginny. "Ginny, you know all that is rubbish. No one is going to believe them. I still love you no matter what."

"But now everyone is going to know me as, I don't know the rubbish girlfriend of the Chosen One. The girl who isn't going to last that long. I can't believe they sabotaged me like that. I didn't mean it to sound so snotty. I even stayed calm and collected. I'm so sorry, Harry!" Ginny was now crying in Harry's shoulder.

"It's all right, Gin. I forgive you even though you didn't do anything wrong."

"But, now the reporters are going to be on your tail end until Merlin knows when."

"No there not. You stay here, I'll be back in an hour. Okay?" Ginny nodded and sat on the second step of the stairwell. Harry nodded and apparated to his location. He walked through the big, wood, double door that led to the office of a certain newspaper.

"I need to talk to the editor!"


	21. Chapter 21

"Hello, Mr. Potter. How can I help you today?"

"I would like to know wrote the barmy article about my girlfriend, Ginny Weasley."

"Oh that was written by one of our most talented, Rita Skeeter."

"Where can I find her?"

"In her office. Room 246 on the seventh floor." Harry walked out of the editor's office and went straight to Rita Skeeter's office. Oh, how he hated that woman. And to think that at one moment he considered forgiving her.

"Oh, Hello our little savior!" Rita winked at him, "You know, Harry, you are looking a lot more handsome than you were the last time I saw you. How long ago was that? Way back when you were fifteen…now look at this seventeen year old, handsome man." Harry rolled his eyes at her. He wasn't here for her flattering.

"Rita, I don't appreciate you completely trashing my girlfriend in the paper. What could have she possibly done to deserve that?"

"I report the truth. And what she said was the truth."

"Yes, she answered your questions right. But it was completely immature for you to tell the public that they should stay away from her. Maybe your forgetting that I'm Harry Potter the bloody Savior of the Wizarding World. I can have you fired before your next article. I gave you a chance for my forgiveness before and you know, right now you have lost that. She does not deserve your rubbish. She is already going through a tough time and you lot of reporters made her day worse. Now you ARE going to write an article about how you were out of line for writing that and you ARE going to apologize to her. Before you completely lose all rights to report about anyone's personal lives." Harry turned around and walked out of the bitch's office. He left the office and apparated back to his flat and found Ginny right where he left her.

"Hey Harry. Where did you go?" She scooted over a little and let Harry sit next to her.

"I went and told the bloody reporter, who wrote that stuff about you, off. She's going to personally apologize and write a new article that talks about how wrong she was."

"Oh Harry, Thank you!"

"Your welcome. But we need to get you back home. Its 5 o'clock and dinner might be on the table." Ginny laughed at Harry's mind set. Every boy loves their food. But Ginny grabbed his and stopped him from leaving the steps. "What?" Is all Harry could say before Ginny's lips explained. They kissed for longer than they ever have. But they had to breathe sooner or later. The pulled apart laughing. They didn't want to leave that moment but Harry's gurgling stomach brought the realization that they had to.

"Hey Mum! Harry found her…She's home!" Ron yelled to his mother who was on the second floor.

"My baby's home? Where is she?"

"Right here, Mum." Ginny joined as she walked into the Burrow.

"GINNY! Oh Merlin. I'm so sorry! We shouldn't have pressured you like that. I'm so sorry! But where could have you gone? Harry went to Grimmauld Place, I flooed Andromeda, Bill went to Shell Cottage, we couldn't find you anywhere!"

"That's because I didn't go to any obvious places. I went to Harry's empty flat."

"Oh I forgot about that place. Thank you, Harry. We really do owe you one."

"Trust me. It was all my pleasure." Harry said smiling down at Ginny.

"Well, dinner is ready and everyone is waiting for you guys to eat. Come on, and for dessert we're going to have some Treacle Tart." Harry smile grew wider. Treacle Tart was his favorite.

* * *

The next few weeks were pretty mellow. Harry and Ginny were together and happy. Ron and Hermione may still have been bickering but their snogging wasn't a problem anymore. The Weasleys finally restarted their Sunday Quidditch games. It was one of their big leaps of recovery from Fred. He was greatly missed and you couldn't say his name without an awkward moment of silence. But their happy days were ended when two Hogwarts letters came for Hermione and Ginny only. Harry and Ron had already told McGonagall that they were not going to be returning to Hogwarts because they were starting auror training. She seemed a bit disappointed that they weren't going to finish out their education, but she couldn't have expected any less. Ginny stared down at her letter for about an hour. She just got back together with Harry. She didn't want to leave him.

"I can't believe that it's going to be your birthday in two weeks. And in a month and a half I'll have to say goodbye to you." Ginny said while they were lying on the couch in front of the fire in Harry's flat.

"We won't be saying goodbye for too long. We will still write to each other."

"I know, but I don't want to leave you. Writing to you isn't as good as seeing your face. Or as good as talking to you in person. It will feel just like last year."

"No it won't. Ginny, last year we couldn't even write to each other now we can." Ginny sat up and looked over at Harry.

"But what if the letters stop coming my way? What if they send all the auror trainees on some god forsaken mission? What if death eaters find you and try to revenge Voldemort's death?"

"Is that what you've been bugging about? You're afraid I'm going to get killed without saying goodbye to you." Ginny nodded and wiped a tear off her cheek. "Ginny. I'm going to tell you something that you already know. I love you more than the world and I always will. I don't plan on breaking up with you in any lifetime. And I think I can trust you because like you said, 'you've loved Harry Potter since you were eight'. I think that should tell you something."

"That should tell me what? That since I was eight, I couldn't say no to your charms?" Ginny said laughing.

"Well, I was looking for the answer that you never gave up on me but I guess that works too." Ginny laughed again and went and leaned back into Harry's arms. This was the perfect moment and she couldn't ask for better.

* * *

Two more weeks past and now it was Harry's birthday. It had also been a month since his last cigarette. He was completely moved into his new flat and in five weeks he was going to start auror training.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HARRY!" The Weasleys said in unison as Harry walked into the Burrow.

"Whoa, I didn't expect another party." Harry said after he noticed all the balloons and the golden snitch cake.

"Well, welcome to the Burrow, where if you have a birthday, god damnit we're going to celebrate it!" Ginny said pushing her boyfriend in a chair.

"Ginny. Don't use that language in this household." Molly said sternly.

"Sorry, Mum. But in twenty days, I'll be of age and language wouldn't be an issue." Ginny said before pecking her mum on the cheek and going into the kitchen for a glass of water.

"Harry, I'm going to trust you that you will keep her on a leash because if you don't, you'll have a serious case of rebel on your hands." Harry laughed at Molly's comment.

"Don't worry, I'll try."

"Alright it's time for the birthday boy to blow out his candles." Everyone crowded around Harry and sang.

"Eighteen is a big number mate. What are you going to do now?"

"Oh you know, wake up, eat, talk to Ginny, eat, talk to Ginny, eat again, and then go to sleep. You know my usual routine."

"But if you could do anything what would you do?"

"I know what he'd do! He'd save the world!" Ginny chipped in.

"Yeah, I have had enough of that for a lifetime." Ginny sat next to him and held his hand. Harry closed his eyes and blew out his candles.

"Look who's the eighteen year old now!" George said clapping his hand on Harry's back.

"Thanks." Harry said as Ginny dragged him into the living room. Everyone else followed. Ginny pecked him on the cheek and sat him down on the sofa.

"Alright, now it's time for your presents. This one is from Mum and Dad." Ginny handed Harry a gift in a red and white packaging. Harry nodded to and and started opening the package. He opened the package quickly to keep his audience awake. They had given him a forest green sweater with an "H" on it.

"Thank you so much, you guys! You're too nice to me!" Harry said to the couple.

"Oh Harry you're family! We wouldn't treat you any different!" Molly said pulling Harry into a hug.

"You're basically a son to me, Harry. Of course we'd give you a birthday present." Arthur said hugging him after Molly finished.

"Alright you lot, it's time for the present from Bill and Fleur." Ginny said clapping her hands for her family's attention.

"Here you are, Harry. Hopefully you like it." Bill said while handing him a small box that was wrapped in a golden packaging. Harry smiled and unwrapped his present. It was a pair of cufflinks. But if you looked close enough it said _BWLT. _Harry thought about it for a second then it hit him.

"Oh you lot know how to give people grief in a nice way." Bill started hysterically laughing.

"What? It's the Boy Who Lived Twice's birthday. Of, course we'd give you grief about that." Bill said smiling.

"I'm zorry, 'Arry, I vasn't apart ov zees." Fleur said sternly, shaking her head.

"Its okay, Fleur, I can take a joke." Harry said then turned to Bill. "I'll wear them everyday once I'm an auror." Bill nodded still slyly grinning.

* * *

They couldn't believe it. The summer holidays went by so fast. It felt like just last week that Harry was a smoking drunk. Ginny and Hermione were saying goodbye to their boyfriends. Hermione was crying while hugging Ron. Ginny was hugging Harry and whispering something in his ear. The train whistle blew meaning that it was time to board. Ginny pulled out from the hug and kissed Harry on the cheek.

"Bye, I'll see you all at Christmas!" Ginny said to her family. She turned around and started to board the train.

"Bye, thank you so much for letting me stay at the Burrow for the summer!" Hermione said to the rest of the Weasleys and she walked with Ginny onto the train. The second whistle blew and the train started to move. Hermione and Ginny waved to their family from the window of the train. Harry, Ron and the rest of the Weasleys waved back to their departing family.

Ginny looked at the train station that was disappearing in the distance and whispered "I love you, Harry Potter."

**A/N: Sorry I noticed if I kept up the pace I was going at. There would be hundred and something chapters. So I'm thinking about doing It in parts what do you think? Please review and tell me. :)**


	22. Chapter 22

It had been a week since Ginny and Hermione left to go to Hogwarts. Ginny was starting to get worried. Harry hadn't sent her a letter since she arrived at school. The worst part was that he was starting auror training today and he probably wouldn't be able to write often. Ginny sat at the breakfast table next to Hermione and across from Neville. He had also decided to repeat his seventh year. Also, Luna Lovegood was at Hogwarts too but she was at the Ravenclaw table. Screeches and hoots entered the Great Hall and mail started dropping. Ginny didn't dare look up. She was afraid that she'd get her hopes up for nothing. But before Ginny realized what happened, a rolled up piece of parchment dropped into her eggs. She quickly wiped off the food and opened it.

* * *

_Dear Ginny,_

_Sorry I took so long to write to you. It's been quite chaotic here. First, Teddy stayed at my place for three days. He wouldn't even let me breathe. After I put him to bed, I had to clean all the splattered food off the walls. By the time I finished I was too tired to think straight. Who knew a baby could be so messy. I guess that's the Marauders in him. I haven't been to the Burrow since you left. I guess I should visit soon but, today I am starting auror training. Ron is more nervous than I am. He keeps saying that he doesn't have Hermione to cheat off of so he's going to fail. Don't tell Hermione I said that. I don't want them to have another thing to bicker about. How's school going without me? Can you at least say that it's better than last year? _

_Write back,_

_Harry James Potter_

* * *

Ginny quickly got up and left to go to the common room. She couldn't believe that after all this time he sent her a letter that wasn't even half a piece of parchment long. But he was a boy; she couldn't have expected any less. She took out her quill and parchment and started to write back.

* * *

_Dear Harry,_

_It's okay that you took way too long. You're forgiven. Harry, I can't believe that you didn't expect for a baby to make a mess. That's all babies do! At least you found that out now because you could use that in the future. Good luck on your first day of auror training. Well, I take that back, by the time you get this, the day will be over. So I hope you had a good start in auror training. Classes have been crazy. Romilda keeps annoying me with her questions about you and her opinions about us. I learned two years ago that I should just ignore her, but you'd think by now she'd get the message. Whenever I walk down the halls with Hermione people keep staring at us. Tell Ron I think he has some competition, but I don't think Hermione will do anything with the thick lunatics that are here. Oh and I guess you don't know much of the romances that are going on here. I think there is some sparks between a few of our classmates. I think that there is something going on between Neville and Hannah Abbot. They're always staring at each other and blushing when someone brings up the other person. Luna met a man that is, I think, about two years older than me. His name is Rolf Scamander. She met him while she was trying to get her father discharged. Anyway I'm probably boring you. Oh and I almost forgot. I'm Quidditch Captain. I feel bad taking it from my old Quidditch Captain from fifth year. (Quidditch was banned last year). But my old Captain was barmy. He always made us practice mad hours and he always yelled at me whenever I hit my brother with a Quaffle. Oh well I can do better than him._

_Write back,_

_Ginny Molly Weasley._

* * *

It had been one of the most tiring days in Harry's life. He never had to work out that much before. But the Ministry of Magic wanted their aurors to be completely fit. Harry plopped down on his maroon sofa that Ginny picked out. It was so quiet when it was just him there. He liked it better when Ginny was there, talking to him, joking around with him, and making fun of Hermione and Ron's relationship. Harry got up and went to his refrigerator and got a glass of pumpkin juice. He had a lot of homework to do. But his attention got pulled to the small barn owl that was tapping on his window. It was Pig, Ginny's owl. Harry quickly went to the window and took the letter off the owl's leg. Harry read it, but things stood out when he did. The sentences, '_you could use that in your future' _and _'my old captain was barmy.' _He was completely sure she was talking about him. He laughed at her sarcasm about Romilda and was completely surprised about Neville and Hannah. After all the years that Harry went to Hogwarts, he never saw Hannah or Neville even talk to each other. Yet it did make sense that they'd like each other, because they were almost exactly alike. He decided to write back tomorrow, now it was time to go to sleep. He'd do the homework in the morning.

* * *

Ginny went to History of Magic with a smile plastered on her face. The first Hogsmeade weekend was going to be tomorrow. She never talked about with Harry but she knew that Hermione had spoken about it to Ron. Maybe Harry would come too. She sat next to Hermione and Neville and Hannah sat in front of them. Luna wasn't taking History of Magic this year. She said that she was going to be living her life to find new species. Ginny chuckled at the thought of Luna finding another god forsaken creature. Just something that she would tell everyone about and diagnose people with having the creature lodged up in their skull.

"What's got you all happy today?" Hermione asked smiling, "You've been smiling ever since Harry sent you that letter yesterday."

"Well, Hermione. Hogsmeade weekend is tomorrow and I have a feeling that one of us is going to be getting a surprise."

"Well, I think it's going to be you. Ron can't keep secrets like that so, if he was going to surprise me I'd hear it by now."

"You give my brother no credit, do you Hermione?" Ginny whispered with slight giggling between each word.

"It's not that I'm not giving him any credit. It's a mere observation of his personality. Anyway, surprising girlfriends is more up Harry's alleyway."

"Yeah, but for some reason I think he's going to be pretty busy with auror homework. I want to tell you something, but I promised I wouldn't tell you."

"Just tell me, I won't get mad at anything right now."

"Well let's just say, it's hard for my brother to get his homework done without the brains to slip him the answers."

"Oh, I couldn't expect anything different on his part. He's never done his homework by himself. I'm sure Harry is helping him, but that doesn't mean anything either. Harry could never do homework. He's too much of a procrastinator."

"Yeah, I've noticed that. But I am too so I can't say anything against him." Hermione laughed at Ginny's statement. Hermione tried to get Ginny to study with her but Ginny would always come up with some barmy excuse why not to. It was just like Harry. Ginny and Harry were perfect together, but when they get married (because that wasn't even a question in Hermione's mind) their kids will have some serious problems with getting their work done.

"Lady's are you listening to me? I asked you if you could tell me why Salazar Slytherin fled the school."

"Oh sorry, Professor. He left because Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw wanted the school to be integrated with half-bloods and muggle-borns. He wanted the school to be just pure-bloods. So he left on their disagreement." Hermione answered, a little disappointed with herself that she wasn't paying any attention.

* * *

Today was the day. Hermione and Ginny walked toward the three broomsticks trying to get out of the harsh winds. It was the first Hogsmeade weekend and both the girls were expecting their boyfriends to come. They sat down at a table furthest away from the door.

"So, have you finished the homework for Slughorn?" Ginny asked trying to start a conversation to pass the time waiting.

"No. I don't know about anything he's talking about. Potions have never been my strong suit. I plan to do something with my life furthest away from the subject." Hermione sipped her butter beer that the waitress just served her.

"Wow, the great Hermione doesn't like a subject at school. I'm shocked."

"Oh come of it, Ginny. What about you, did you finish the homework?"

"Oh, well, no. I didn't. It sort of makes me want to go to the room of requirement and find that bloody book Harry carried around during his sixth year. But of course, all of the hidden items were burned in that fire during the battle." Ginny sighed.

"Yeah, and to think that I was apart of that fire, it's unbelievable." After Hermione finished that statement a new redhead was sitting next to her, and something was covering Ginny's eyes.

"RON! YOU CAME!" Hermione squealing as she hugged her boyfriend. Now all eyes were on Ginny to see what Harry was going to do.

"Guess who?" Harry said still covering her eyes.

"Um, Zachary?"

"What? No!"

"Oh, um…Michael?"

"No…" You could tell the disappointment in Harry's voice. And Ginny started to laugh.

"Oh I know who it is….it's Dean isn't it?" Harry uncovered Ginny eyes and she turned around to see him. "Oh, it's Harry! I forgot about you!" Ginny said sarcastically.

"Really?" Harry had a sad expression on his face.

"Of course not, I'm only playing with you!" Ginny pulled him down and started to kiss him.

"Oi, you two! Get a room!" They pulled apart smiling. Harry took the seat that was next to Ginny and across from Ron.

"So how has school been going?" Harry asked the girls.

"Oh it's been going great! Well Ginny keeps getting me into trouble with pretty much all my teachers. But I talked to them and made sure they understood why Ginny kept talking to me during class."

"Hey! You only get into trouble when it's Herbology and History of Magic, two of the most boring classes ever to me invented. So, therefore I talk during them. I'm only human." Hermione rolled her eyes at Ginny.

"What about you two? How's auror training?" Hermione asked turning the attention towards the boys.

"Don't even talk about it." Harry said pinching the bridge of his nose. The girls were confused with Harry's statement. Probably because it wasn't addressed to them, but to Ron. Ron started to giggle then opened his mouth to speak.

"It is the best thing in the world! Well besides the whole work and training part!"

"I'm confused. If the work and training part of auror training sucks then why is it the best thing in the world?" Hermione asked.

"Mainly because the auror trainer is hilarious! You see, because Harry moved, and the reporters haven't figured out where his knew flat is. His fan girls send him his mail to the auror office. The trainer, Robinson, gives Harry a load of grief every time one lands on his desk. He usually reads them out loud to a group of people." Harry winced at Ron's story. Auror training was one of the most humiliating things Harry had to go through. "Oh come on, Harry. It's all good fun. You know that no one means anything personal on your part. They all are just laughing at the lunatic girls who are attracted to you!"

"Still, it's a bit annoying after awhile. And don't forget most of those 'lunatic girls' offer the most disturbing things you could know about. That's when reading them aloud is plain cruel." Harry said playing with his napkin that was on the table.

"What do the girls write about?" Ginny chipped in. She was completely agitated by these letters before, and now, with what Ron was saying, she was completely irritated.

"Oh, barmy things like, 'we can have an adult sleepover at my place.' Or 'that girlfriend of yours can't do better than me.' It's so funny!" Ron said tapping the desk. He was having a jolly time with the topic. Harry on the other hand was getting angrier and angrier by the minute. Ginny scowled at Ron then looked at Harry.

"We'll talk about this later." She said sternly before they continued with the rest of their day. But of course the day couldn't last forever. Harry and Ron walked the girls back to the castle and returned home for the night.

* * *

_Dear Ginny,_

_It's been a week since we saw each other at Hogsmeade and I already miss you desperately. You seemed very irritated about the fan mail. Just to make sure you knew, none of those girls mean anything to me. You're the only fan girl who will ever be called mine. Hopefully classes are going well for you. Auror training is starting to lighten up for me. Even though it's been a week since we started. The whole fan mail thing started to get old and Robinson isn't reading them any more. He gives them to me and then I throw them away. But now the only thing that makes auror training less enjoyable is the long days and the less time to write to you. Again please forgive me for taking so long to write to you and probably even longer to respond. But hey things are starting to finally look up._

_Please write back,_

_Harry James Potter._

* * *

Ginny was surprised that Harry caught on about her discomfort towards the letters. And even more surprised that the jokes about it was getting old. The next Hogsmeade weekend was going to be in two weeks and Ginny couldn't wait any longer. Soon Quidditch matches would start up and Harry could come to those. He might even bring Ron so Hermione wouldn't be so lonely. But for right now, all Ginny could do was write Harry back.

* * *

_Dear Harry,_

_Thanks for picking up my problem with those stupid fan girls. You really did assure me that you love me in that letter. Now it's my turn to reassure you that you're my one and only hero. The whole name thing at Hogsmeade was just a joke. I knew it was going to be you, I just wanted to see what you're reaction would be if I played all those tricks. The next trip is in two weeks. I really would love it if you could come to it. Don't worry I'll be sure to remember it's you that's coming. Now that Hermione pointed out that I talk to her too much during Herbology and History of Magic, I decided to talk to her way more than I did before. Just to annoy her. I think that's probably the only thing I'm good at these days. But its fun for the time being._

_Write back,_

_Ginny Molly Weasley._


	23. Chapter 23

_Dear Ginny,_

_It's been a week since we saw each other at Hogsmeade and I already miss you desperately. You seemed very irritated about the fan mail. Just to make sure you knew, none of those girls mean anything to me. You're the only fan girl who will ever be called mine. Hopefully classes are going well for you. Auror training is starting to lighten up for me. Even though it's been a week since we started. The whole fan mail thing started to get old and Robinson isn't reading them any more. He gives them to me and then I throw them away. But now the only thing that makes auror training less enjoyable is the long days and the less time to write to you. Again please forgive me for taking so long to write to you and probably even longer to respond. But hey things are starting to finally look up._

_Please write back,_

_Harry James Potter._

* * *

Ginny was surprised that Harry caught on about her discomfort towards the letters. And even more surprised that the jokes about it was getting old. The next Hogsmeade weekend was going to be in two weeks and Ginny couldn't wait any longer. Soon Quidditch matches would start up and Harry could come to those. He might even bring Ron so Hermione wouldn't be so lonely. But for right now, all Ginny could do was write Harry back.

* * *

_Dear Harry,_

_Thanks for picking up my problem with those stupid fan girls. You really did assure me that you love me in that letter. Now it's my turn to reassure you that you're my one and only hero. The whole name thing at Hogsmeade was just a joke. I knew it was going to be you, I just wanted to see what you're reaction would be if I played all those tricks. The next trip is in three weeks. I really would love it if you could come to it. Don't worry I'll be sure to remember it's you that's coming. Now that Hermione pointed out that I talk to her too much during Herbology and History of Magic, I decided to talk to her way more than I did before. Just to annoy her. I think that's probably the only thing I'm good at these days. But its fun for the time being._

_Write back,_

_Ginny Molly Weasley._

* * *

It had been three weeks since Ginny wrote to Harry. Three weeks since he read the letter. Three weeks since the assurance that Harry loved Ginny had left her. Harry didn't respond to her letter. _Did I offend him in some way? What if he's hurt? No, he said he wouldn't leave without a proper goodbye. He must be busy or something. Or this is just his plan to surprise me more at Hogsmeade. _Ginny couldn't stop the thoughts from running through her head. But what if Harry actually listened to one of those fan mails? What if Harry found someone else? The stopping of letters was so sudden. Only a sane person would jump to conclusions. That must mean Ginny was sane. Hermione and Ginny were getting dressed to go to Hogsmeade this afternoon.

"Ginny, you've been really different for about two weeks. Can you please tell me what's bothering you?" Hermione finally asked easing the awkward silence that was present.

"Harry stopped writing to me. I don't know why. His last letter was all about how he loved me and that I'm the only fan girl that he would call his own. But then his letters just stopped. Has Ron written to you?" Hermione paused for a moment the nodded, "Well, how long ago was it?" Hermione hesitated for a moment. Her answer would decide whether one of her best friend would still be alive after the next time he saw his girlfriend.

"Ginny, listen. Ron wrote to me the other day. It was short and each sentence wasn't coherent with the last. In other words, he wasn't making much sense like he was distracted about something. Maybe he knows what's going on. He's coming today. He'd be able to answer your questions." Ginny nodded she was sure that she was probably just being superstitious about nothing.

The girls sat at the same table in the Three Broomsticks and talked about the same thing while waiting for the boys. But only a redhead showed up.

"Wow who is this pretty lady?" Ron said coming up to Hermione and kissing her cheek. Ginny groaned at Ron's try of being romantic. Hermione looked around and the smile disappeared off her face.

"Where's Harry?" Hermione asked Ron as he sat next to her. Ginny's attention was caught immediately. Ron suddenly turned paled and stiffened.

"Um, Harry isn't doing so well." Ron spoke slowly and sincerely. Ginny was the one who turned pale this time.

"What's wrong with him? He just suddenly stopped sending me letters."

"Well, Harry stopped talking to people during auror training. We have sent him invitations to family dinners. But he declined, saying he had too much auror homework. He started to work out and sit in the back of room during training. No one knows what's wrong with him…except me." Ginny couldn't believe her ears. Was Harry really turning into a drunk again? Was he going back into his depression?

"Well what is wrong with him?" Hermione asked with a little more force than how Ginny asked.

"I may have followed him after training once. He went out to muggle London and bought some more cigarettes. Then he went into a pub and drank a little. But he didn't get drunk; I think he's only drinking enough so that he won't get into any trouble with Robinson. I decided to talk to him about it after class the next day. I cornered him and asked some questions. He said that he can't help but refer back to his drinks and cigarettes now that Ginny is gone."

"He promised me that nothing was going to change. Obviously that git was lying to me. I need to go and talk to him! Do you think McGonagall would let me?" Ron shrugged.

"She's your headmistress you know her better than I do." Ginny nodded and got up.

"Wait, Ginny. Death eaters are still out there let me walk you up there. Hermione you can come along. It's just; Robinson said that we shouldn't let our guard down. Some death eaters might still want their revenge." Ginny nodded and all three of them started walking to Hogwarts castle. Ron and Hermione said goodbye to Ginny once they reached the gate. Ginny turned and waved goodbye to her brother and her best friend. She went straight to the gargoyle that led to the headmistress' office.

"Um, Dumbledore?" The gargoyle didn't budge.

"Um, Potter?" The gargoyle didn't budge.

"Victory?" The gargoyle started to twist open. A feeling of relief spread across Ginny's body. She got into the headmistress's office without a lot of hassle. That's good.

"Oh, Ms. Weasley. What do you need? Shouldn't you be at Hogsmeade with Ms. Granger?" Ginny nodded her head.

"I should be but Ron told me some disturbing news about Harry. I need to talk some sense into him." McGonagall tilted her head.

"Oh really and what would this news be? Don't tell me that Potter is going into another depression." McGonagall out her hand to her mouth is surprise when Ginny nodded to her question.

"Okay then pack your bags to stay there for a week. I want you to stay that long to ensure that Potter is okay. Then come back here and you can Floo to where you need to go." Ginny left the office with determination. She was going to get Harry out of this. She's done it twice before, so, she could do it again. By the time she packed her bags and came back to the office, McGonagall already had the Floo network up and running.

"Alright, because of school security it will only let one person Floo per day. So I trust you that you Floo to the right location." Ginny nodded she took a moment to remember Harry's address then it came to him. She stepped into the fireplace.

"Harry Potter's flat Bristol, England!" She yelled and Floo out of the office. Ginny shot out of a brick fireplace and into a gold and maroon colored room. She coughed at all the dust that rose from the fireplace. No one flooed here in a while. The kitchen light was on and lit the hallway. Ginny slowly walked towards the kitchen; she knew if she startled him it might end out bad for her. Finally, when the kitchen came into view, she saw a black haired man leaning on the counter, back facing her.

"Harry?" Ginny spoke quietly to make sure she didn't surprise him to much. Harry jumped as he heard him name being called. He hadn't spoken to anyone since Ron cornered him after training.

"Ginny?" He turned around and saw Ginny standing in his doorway.

"You weren't that thick to believe that I wouldn't find out about your little pub visits and night time smokes. Or maybe your distance from anyone and everyone. Or perhaps why you stopped sending letters. You weren't that thick to believe that you were going to get away with it either." Ginny was now leaning up against the doorway with her arms crossed. Harry didn't expect Ginny to know any of that. He was even more shocked that she would leave school to tell him off. "Oh, I forgot your not talking. Okay, well how about you just listen. I have been in love with you since I was little, you used to be completely oblivious to my existence and unless I'm going mad, I was the one to make the first move both times we got together. Now you sit here mull over why your life sucks and how the world should turn their back on you. But no matter how many drinks you drink or how many cigarettes you smoke nothing will change. Everyone will still try and talk to you. Harry do you even love me? Because I can't read you right now, you wrote me a letter about how you love and how I will be the only fan girl to call your own, and then you stop sending me letters. I don't understand." Ginny started to get more and more emotional with every word she said. She was close to tears by the end. Harry ran towards her and hugged her.

"Ginny, I do love you. From the bottom of my heart. But I just can't get my mind straight. I'm so sorry, Ginny. Please, please forgive me. I thought I could make it on my own and let you finish school with no worries, but it looks like I failed. I'm so sorry, Ginny." Harry was still hugging her and Ginny wasn't pulling away. She hadn't gotten this close to him since Hogsmeade.

"You promised me you'd be okay. Ron is worrying about you, but he covered for you. He told mum you had tons of homework or you're super tired. But he told me everything and I'm not going to let him cover for you anymore." Now Ginny was crying on Harry's shoulder. These last few months hit her hard and she seemed to be crying more than she ever had. Ginny Weasley was not a crier. She was tough and strong. If she was crying that meant something hit her hard.

"I'm sorry I broke my promise. I'm so sorry that I worried everyone. I'm sorry that the letters stopped. I'm just sorry." Harry pulled back to see how Ginny looked. She looked up at him and wiped a tear away.

"Are you going to fix it? Are you going to change? Are you going stop?" Harry hesitated for a moment. He knew he could stop drinking anytime but smoking was a different story.

"I don't know, Ginny. I'll try but smoking is hard to stop. It's too addicting." Ginny's expression turned cold. But then something clicked. She started look anxious about something. Something that Harry couldn't figure out. She went on her tiptoes and kissed his lips. It was the most passionate kiss they ever had until then. She loved him and he loved her. They both wanted desperately to spend the rest of their lives together but they were afraid that the other wouldn't want that. Or it would be too overwhelming for them to think about. Ginny slowly wrapped her arms around his neck. Harry slowly wrapped his arms around her waist. But then she pulled back coughing. "What's wrong, Gin?"

"When was the last time you smoked?" Ginny said wiping her mouth.

"An hour ago. Maybe less." Harry was disappointed with his answer. He wished he could say that the last time he smoked was back in May, during his first depression. But he had to tell her the truth.

"I can tell. That was disgusting. Maybe you should brush your teeth twenty times." She said pointing to the stairwell. Harry nodded and let go of her. He wanted to stay there with her more than anything but she insisted that he go brush his teeth. "And Harry, don't take too long." She said smiling. Her smile was contagious. She always knew how to make him smile too. It literally was just if she smiled, he smiled. It was a sign of true love. Harry quickly got to his bathroom and brushed his teeth as best as he could. He looked at himself in the mirror and noticed his face was stubbly with unwanted stubble. He was just about to go downstairs when Ginny called out, "Oh, and shave your face!" Harry chuckled to himself. He went back to his sink and started to shave his face. By the time he finished, Ginny was sitting on his sofa with a butter beer in her hand.

"I see you found where I keep the butter beer." Harry said as he sat next to her.

"Yeah, I also found where you keep your liquor and your cigarettes. Oh and also those little ash trays you have so you can smoke in the house. Yes, Harry, I found everything."

"Sorry."

"It's alright. Tomorrow I'll help you get rid of your booze and I'll make a deal with you about those stupid cigarettes."

"Wait, you'll be here tomorrow?" Ginny nodded.

"Actually, I'll be here for a week to sort you out. McGonagall let me come here but she said that she doesn't want me to leave until I'm absolutely sure your in the right mind set."

"Well, where will you be staying?"

"Here of course. My mum doesn't have to know that I left Hogwarts, you know."

"But Ron knows, therefore he will tell your mum and I will lose body parts."

"Who said anything about _that_?"

"No one. But I know your brother's will jump to conclusions."

"And I'll tell them I want kids some day…" Ginny clapped her hand over her mouth and looked away from him. He wasn't supposed to hear that. She really needed to learn self control.

"What did you say?" Harry asked with a hopeful expression. He thought he was just dreaming for a second. He wanted to spend his life with Ginny and if she said what he thought she said, then she just made him a very happy man.

"I didn't say anything." Ginny said guiltily.

"No, did you just say. You want kids, in context with me?" Harry now was smiling as Ginny turned to look into his eyes.

"Why? Are you okay with hearing that?" Harry's smile grew larger and Ginny's face returned back to its normal color. She put down her butter beer on a coaster and wrapped her arms around his neck once more. They kissed and kissed and kissed but when they pulled apart, Ginny wore a worried face. "Harry, I love you. You know that. But I sort of want to wait until I'm out of Hogwarts until we…you know…" Harry nodded.

"Yeah, I understand. I can wait a million years. As long as you're still mine then all that doesn't matter to me." Ginny snuggled into Harry's chest and stayed there. They lay down on the sofa like they had a little over two months ago. "I love you, Ginny Weasley."

"I love you too, Harry Potter." They fell asleep in each other's arms.

**A/N: Hopefully that was fluffy enough for you Hinny lovers. Will we ever figure out why Harry fell into another depression? Maybe. PLEASE Review and Follow this story, if you liked it! Thanks :)**


	24. Chapter 24

"Wake up! Harry, wake up!" Harry didn't budge. Ginny got up ten minutes ago and she needed to help Harry clean out his house. She shook her head. It was eleven o'clock and the day was wasting. She made her way to Harry's refrigerator and took a bottle of water. She quickly ran the cold water over to the living room. Ginny looked around to make sure no reporters were out side the windows. Then she finally poured the water on her boyfriends face.

"AH! What the hell, Gin!" Harry said wiping his face with his shirt.

"Oh, you're up!" Harry looked up at his girlfriend.

"Yeah, because you splashed water in my face!"

"What? I did no such thing!" Ginny put her hand to her chest like she was surprised.

"Your holding a bottle, that's meant for water, in your hand." Harry said pointing accusingly at the empty bottle in her hand.

"Because I was thirsty." Ginny spoke while smiling. Harry got up and stopped next to her. He got close to her ear.

"We'll just say you were thirsty, but don't worry, I'll get you back." Harry's whisper made Ginny get goose bumps on her arms. Harry left the living room and went into the kitchen. Ginny followed close behind.

"Well, Harry, what do you think we should start the day of with?"

"I don't care. How about some food? I have cereal if you want some too."

"Harry, you must have cereal every morning. How about I cook up something actually good?"

"How do you know I have cereal every morning?"

"Because you have six boxes of the same cereal and also I know how you're lazy you are in the morning. I don't think you'd take the time to actually cook up a good breakfast."

"Fine, what can you cook up quickly?"

"Why quickly?"

"Because Gin, not everyone gets an entire week off. I have auror training."

"Harry, its Sunday."

"What? I thought it was Thursday."

"Now you see why you need to stop drinking?"

"What do you mean? How did a mere mix up of the days tell you that my drinking is out of control?"

"Harry, you're a grown man. You should be able to tell if it's Sunday or Thursday. And the days aren't even that close together. It would make sense if it was Saturday and you thought it was Sunday or visa-versa. But when the days aren't even close, that should tell you something."

"I guess your right."

"I know I am. Anyways, what do you want for breakfast?"

"How about some eggs?"

"Poached, sunny side up, scrambled?"

"Scrambled, I guess."

"Alright I'll make some eggs while you go get dressed for the day." Harry turned and walked up a few steps before he turned back to see Ginny once more. Her back was toward him and she was starting the stove. Harry wanted it to be like that all the time. He wanted to wake up every morning and come downstairs to find the girl of his dreams cooking him breakfast in the kitchen. Harry chuckled at the thought and turned back to the next set of stairs.

"Alright, now that the trash can is full of liquor. We should talk about your smoking." Ginny said plopping down on the recliner in the living room. Harry gave her a mug of butter beer and sat down across from her on the sofa.

"Ginny, don't you think we should take a break from working. It's only three o'clock. And you will have six days to waste."

"I suppose your right. Then what should we do for the rest of the day. And no my mum isn't suppose to know I'm here. Like you said my entire family will jump to conclusions. And I don't want you getting in trouble with my brothers."

"You mean, 'you don't want me to get in trouble with your entire family'?"

"No, Ron knows I'm here, so that leaves six people on your arse. Then my parents trust you like you're their own. They don't think you'll do anything to hurt me. So that leaves four brothers on your arse _if they figure out._"

"Why the emphasis on if they figure out?" Harry said smiling.

"Oh that's because Fred will be on your arse twenty-four seven."

"Oh thanks for the reminder…" Harry's words were quiet. Ginny forgot that Harry was still feeling a bit sensitive to the casualties of the war.

"Harry, Fred doesn't even blame you. You weren't the one that blew up the wall. Percy was the one to distract him and we didn't even come close to blaming him. You were just a witness. You shouldn't feel bad about yourself."

"I know that. It's just that…it's hard not to think of what if's or if onlys. I just can't stop feeling guilty." Harry took a sip of butter beer to keep his voice from cracking. Ginny understood what Harry meant by it. It's hard to be the war hero but soon he would recover fully. Though doubts couldn't stop entering her mind. It had only been a month since she started Hogwarts and she already had to make a special trip back to help Harry out. How could she go back if she didn't know if he was going to fall back into his own ways? Ron would probably tell her if Harry was going downhill, but Hogsmeade weekend is three weeks apart. Three weeks. It only takes one day for something terribly wrong to happen. Like Harry getting injured, or Harry drinking until he drops, or Harry leaving town… But no, Ginny couldn't think like that when he was sitting right in front of her. She has time to spend with him now, mind as well use it as much as possible.

"Let's get our mind off of it. I've never seen a single muggle movie and Hermione keeps talking about them. I would really like to see one."

"Okay which one does Hermione always talk about?"

"Its one with a girl who has two evil step sisters and an evil step mom. Then she goes to a ball and meets her prince charming."

"Just out of curiosity, why was Hermione talking about that movie?"

"She said something about her prince charming. I think it was something about Ron and how she wished it was more like one of those stories."

"Well okay I can go and buy it at a muggle store right now if you want."

"Do you even know what it's called?"

"Yeah Dudley used to watch that movie all the time when we were growing up. Even though it was a girl movie, I still remember him crying at one point."

"Well I want to come with you!"

"Okay but if the press sees you and print an article about you, then it's going to be you who tells your mum why you weren't at school."

"Harry, I've never been to too much of the muggle world, what's life without a little risk?" Harry shook his at her enthusiasm.

"Alright well get your shoes on. Grab a hat and some sunglasses."

"Why would I do that?"

"Have you noticed that I haven't had many articles about me in the Daily Prophet lately?" Ginny thought for a moment then realized that there had been no articles about the Chosen One's activities.

"You found a way to hide from the press without polyjuice potion?"

"Yes, just sunglasses a hat and walking with your head down. They won't recognize you!"

"Okay, but they know that were together and that I have red hair so I'm going to try and put it up somehow so they don't see a suspicious red and black haired couple walking down the street and get any ideas." Harry shook his head. His girlfriend was definitely something. Not that that was a bad thing. It gave him another reason to love her.

There they were in a muggle movie store looking for a child movie called Cinderella. Harry was surprised that no one was giving him dirty looks for being in the children section. Ginny finally pointed out the movie that she wanted. The cover showed a girl in a blue dress with little mice watching her at the bottom. Yeah, that was definitely Cinderella. The couple walked over to the checkout counter.

"Oh, hello, is this all that you will be buying today?" The cashier, who was wearing a nauseating smile, asked in a bubbly tone. Harry nodded as he got out his muggle money. "Alright, well is this for your guys' daughter?" Harry paled. He didn't look that old and neither did Ginny. But they both had hats and sunglasses on. She probably couldn't tell that they were only seventeen and eighteen. Harry shook his head and looked over at Ginny. "Oh I see, you guys want a romantic movie night. Disney movies are perfect for that." The cashier lost Ginny at Disney. _What is Disney? The girl name is Cinderella. This cashier obviously doesn't know her movies. _Ginny was pulled back from her thoughts when Harry grabbed her hand to leave the shop.

"Harry."

"Yeah, Gin?"

"What was that lady's problem?"

"What do you mean? She was perfectly nice."

"No, the title of the movie was clearly printed on the front cover. But she called it Disney."

"No, Gin, Disney is the company that made Cinderella a movie." Harry's explanation didn't help Ginny's confusion, "Well…er…don't worry about it." Ginny nodded she knew that no matter how many times Harry explained it, he wasn't going to make her confusion go away.

"Probably for the best." The couple walked hand in hand down the streets of muggle London. They kept their heads down and made small talk until they got off the streets where no reporters could find them. Harry couldn't help but feel watched, like he had felt watched way back when he first visited his pub. The night he bought his first pack of cigarettes, the night where he made one of the biggest mistakes of his life.

"Ginny, did you feel like someone was watching you, too?" Ginny paused for a moment then looked around.

"To be honest, yes, I did,"

"We need to get back home. Cross our fingers that no one took a picture of us." They sped walked to the alleyway where they apparated home.

"Harry, you don't think any reporters saw us. Maybe I should go home and tell mum why I'm out of school. She may want me to stay there but she won't go after you."

"Well, let's just wait to see if an article comes out. I mean you don't think that they would actually put out a rushed copy about us walking down the street together really?"

"You tell me, I have had only three articles about me. You've had millions since you were a baby." Harry shuddered at that. He didn't like thinking about his fame. He absolutely despised being famous ever since the middle of his first year at Hogwarts. The first half was him believing it was all a dream and not knowing how to cope with it.

"How about we just watch the movie you made me buy and then we'll start worrying." Harry put the disc into the movie player he bought a while back. Ginny didn't know how they worked but she trusted that Harry did. He was always the smart one in the relationship even if he wouldn't admit it. The movie started with some advertisements. Ginny didn't care about upcoming muggle movies that were supposively new.

"Harry, you don't have to tell me but, I was just wondering why you haven't contacted the Dursleys since the battle?"

"Well, I don't know if they're still in hiding or not. They were supposed to be living with Dedalus Diggle in hiding until it was safe. Now it's safe, so Diggle should have brought them back to their house."

"But wouldn't they want to see you and make sure you're okay?"

"No. They never cared about me. After I turned seventeen, I was on my way and I don't care what happens to them."

"Okay then."

"Has Hermione gone and found her parents yet?"

"She did way back when you were moping after the war." Ginny said ruffling his hair.

"She never told me that. Actually no one told me that…How did they take it?"

"Unfortunately they didn't like the fact that she went behind their back and changed their memories. They said that they need to finish the year off in Australia and then they were going to move back to Britain."

"Oh, she was afraid that they weren't going to accept her as a daughter anymore."

"They told her that they would never turn away from her. She thinks that they would really yell at her when they move back. Only time will tell. But for the time being, everything is going fine in Hermione's life." Finally the movie started. Ginny laughed at all the right moments, gasped at the surprising moments. Harry found it funny to watch Ginny during her first muggle film. Even though it was for children she seemed to enjoy it. Until a patronus came into the house. It was from Molly Weasley and Ginny had no idea what to expect. It looked toward Ginny and started to speak.

_"Ginevra Molly Weasley. Why aren't you at school? A new Daily Prophet came out of you and Harry Potter. You shouldn't be out of Hogwarts Grounds. Report home immediately or I will find you. Bring Harry as well; in the photo he looked a bit peaky. _

Ginny paled and turned to Harry. Harry seemed to feel the exact same way since he was also pale. That means the Daily Prophet reporters saw them walking together. But what could they whip up now?

"Harry, check your doorstep. I think the Daily Prophet made a rush copy of us." Harry hurried to the door of his flat. There on his welcome doormat lied a copy of the Daily Prophet rushed edition.

**Princess Ginevra Left School for Prince Harry?**

Did our Princess Ginevra Weasley leave Hogwarts for her prince charming Harry Potter? We were checking muggle streets for any news to report and we found the famous couple walking, holding hands, down the streets of London. They were both wearing hats that were covering most of their hair, and both were wearing sunglasses. They were walking with head down and very fast to not be seen. Little did they know that we were watching them the entire time. The couple entered a muggle video store. _"They came to the counter and checked out a Disney movie called Cinderella. They didn't talk much. They seemed very reserved like they had no desire to talk to anyone else but each other. I sold them the movie and they left/" _The cashier was a very helpful source. They obviously aren't a happy couple if they can't even talk to anyone in front of each other. Why would Harry Potter buy his girlfriend a muggle movie? All this reporter can say is for the public to expect a break up. More reports soon.

"I swear it's like they're trying to sabotage our relationship." Ginny said outraged.

"Ginny lets get you to the Burrow before your mum makes sure there's no relationship to be sabotaged." Harry said grabbing her elbow.

"Mum wouldn't do that; she'll just make sure that you get better while I go back to school."

"Well let's get you there now like your mum's patronus said." Ginny flooed to the Burrow followed by Harry.

"GINEVRA MOLLY WEASLEY! SO IT'S TRUE! YOU ARE OUT OF SCHOOL! WHY DID YOU DITCH YOUR SCHOOL TIME TO HANG OUT WITH YOU'RE BOYFRIEND. HAVE YOU EVEN GONE TO SCHOOL?"

"Mum, please, you don't have the whole story."

"DON'T TALK BACK TO ME! YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE AT SCHOOL! NOT BACK AT HOME! WHY DID YOU LEAVE HOGWARTS?"

Just then, Ron came out from his bedroom to see why his mum was yelling. He was greeted downstairs by his mum screaming at his sister and his best mate cowering behind her.

"What happened now?" Ron said before his sister answered his mum's question.

"WHAT RONALD? CAN YOU REALLY NOT SEE WHATS WRONG HERE?"

"Not really." Ron said shrugging.

"Your sister left school to spend time with her boyfriend." Molly redirected her attention to Harry, "Don't worry Harry; it's not your fault. You can't control what she does."

"Mrs. Weasley, it's my fault." Harry said in a small voice.

"No its not. Don't stick up for her." Molly said shaking her head. Her voice was still loving like how she always talks to Harry.

"No. I may have made a couple more wrong choices. And Ronald told her. She was only taking a break from school to get me back to normal and then she was going to go back to school." Molly nodded then looked to Ginny.

"Is this true?" Ginny nodded and stood next to Harry. "Well, when are you going back?"

"I have about six more days. McGonagall wanted me to stay until Harry has fully recovered."

"What happened with Harry?" Ginny turned to Ron, since he was the one who told her. Harry would be too much of a prat to tell her. He hates talking about his mistakes and he hates talking about his victories even more. He has always been a selfless person.

"Well, Mum, you know how Harry always has a lot of homework?" Molly nodded, "Well, Harry doesn't. He went back to the way he was way back in May. So I informed his girlfriend and she went to her headmistress. She is the only one who can take Harry out of any depression. That's why she's here."

"Well you could have told me you were here and not wait for an article to come out about you. You're lucky that Arthur didn't see it. He believes your education is important and you need to get back. Now that I know why Harry has been 'busy' I will make sure that he won't be pulling the same bull."

"Can I tell you that those excuses were all Ron? I simply said I couldn't come, he came up with those bloody excuses."

"Ronald! You knew about this and didn't tell me. I could have helped him but you kept it a secret for three weeks. Not smart Ronald, not smart." Mrs. Weasley wasn't yelling but definitely talking sternly. "Well, Harry, in that picture you looked a bit peaky. So how about you sit down and I'll find you a snack." Harry nodded as he took a seat at the kitchen table.

"Hey, mate." Ron said sitting across from Harry.

"Hey." Harry seemed to be short with Ron. _What did Ron do now?_ Ginny kept thinking aloud. Ron glared at Ginny for a moment.

"Hey, Harry, I'm sorry for what happened the last time we spoke." Harry looked up at his best friend.

"It's alright, mate. It was my entire bloody fault right?"

"Well, sort of. I should have let Ginny know sooner. It was obvious I had no idea how to talk to someone going through what ever you were."

"Oh well, you can't undo the past. So…are we alright?"

"We are if you want to be." Harry shook his hand and his tension seemed to ease almost instantly.

"I'm sorry. What happened between the two of you?" Ginny asked completely confused.

"Ginny, I told you at Hogsmeade. I cornered Harry after training one day. I sort of lost my temper and told him off. Well not tell him off more like rudely beg him to lay off the booze."

"You got that part right. And don't think I didn't know you were following me." Ron's ears turned red. He actually didn't think Harry knew about that part. "Exactly."

"Sorry, mate."

"So, how's Hermione doing? I haven't seen her in three weeks."

"Well, she keeps bugging me to study with her. I don't know how you guys did it for six years. I'm already going mad and it's only been a month."

"It's quite simple really. I don't do it anymore but growing up with her I've learned to either change the subject or tune her out."

"Yeah Gin. I used to do it all the time." Harry said smirking.

"Not to me right?"

"Of course not." Harry's smirk turned into a smile and Ginny didn't know how to take that.

"Anyway, after you left," Ron said pointing to Ginny, "Hermione wouldn't stop worrying about you two. And then I can only guess how she's looking at the article about you two."

"Don't even remind me." Harry said, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I mean, come on. How do you get 'future break up' by us not talking to the overly excessive and so-happy-I-could-be-sick cashier?" Harry laughed at Ginny's description.

"Ginny do you think you're exaggerating some details about her?" Ron asked then looked at Harry for back up.

"No she's spot on. I went in there to buy her the movie she wanted and not to go in and make conversation with a random cashier." Harry chipped in. Back up for Ron was never given.

"Why? I do that all the time!" Ron commented sarcastically. Ginny snorted for a second. Only Ron.

"I don't want to know the details. Anyway, hopefully Hermione is taking some worthy notes for me right now."

"Oh she is. After you left, that's all she was talking about. She kept saying, 'if she doesn't coming back soon, I'll take notes so she can catch up.' To me it was annoying that our topic was about you."

"Why? We're a hot topic. Just ask the Daily Prophet." Ginny said putting her arm around Harry. Harry snorted for a moment. He didn't want to be the hot topic.

"Yeah, but if I can only see my girlfriend every three weeks. I'd rather talk about something reasonable." Ron said wrinkling his nose.

"Wow, Ron. Big vocabulary. Maybe you dating Hermione is a blessing for many different reasons."

"Shut up, Ginny." Ginny shrugged, she thought what she said was true. Molly came back with a snack and a glass of pumpkin juice.

**A/N: Now I'm sure that this story will be written in parts. I think this is going to end in a few chapters and then I'll post a new story that is linked to this one. It's just I don't want a story wtih sixty something chapters. Thanks :) **


	25. Chapter 25

"Alright, Ginny."

"Alright, Harry."

"Again, Gin. Thank you so much. I don't know what I would do without you." Harry hugged her once more. Ginny hugged back and wouldn't let go.

"It's my pleasure, Harry. Plus it was a great week. I don't want to go back."

"I know but, you have to. I'll be here when you get back." Ginny let go and looked into those beautiful green eyes. The eyes that were apart of her first valentine to him way back in first year.

"But will you be here as you, or the other you." Ginny was close to tears when she said that. She realized her biggest fear was if she couldn't leave school like she did, again and he would sink into another depression.

"It won't happen again. Anyway you got rid of all my booze." Harry said with a chuckle in his voice.

"Harry, it's not funny. I don't want you buying a single bottle of any alcohol except butter beer. If I hear you have, it's your neck on the chopping block."

"Ginny…butter beer doesn't have any alcohol."

"Harry, yes it does. How else could I have gotten drunk off of it? And I don't want to hear you've been getting drunk off of butter beer either."

"I promise I won't." Ginny gave him one last fleeting hug and a peck on the cheek before she flooed back to Hogwarts.

Harry sighed. He was going to miss her but the next Hogsmeade weekend was in two weeks and he wouldn't miss it for the world. He left the living room and got dressed into his uniform that's required to be worn until he's an auror. The memories of Ginny telling him how hot he looked in them came back. Harry didn't and still doesn't believe he looked _hot. _He never looked good before. He looked at his wrist watch and it was only seven-thirty. He went to the kitchen and thought of what he could eat for breakfast.

_"What do you want for breakfast?"_

_ "How about some eggs?"_

_ "Poached, sunny side up, scrambled?"_

_ "Scrambled, I guess." _

Harry came out of his thoughts by an owl scratching at the window. It was a majestic snowy owl and it sort of reminded Harry of Hedwig. Merlin blesses her soul. He walked over to the window and took the letter off the owl's leg.

* * *

_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_ We at the Ministry need you to come as soon as possible. We understand you're a trainee but we need you to come on an auror mission with us. Don't worry Ronald Weasley will be coming as well. Please bring about two weeks worth of clothing and say your final goodbyes to your family. There will be no contact with in or out of the Ministry. More details when you arrive._

_ Sincerely,_

_ Kingsley Shacklebolt_

_ Minister of Magic_

* * *

Harry read the letter and wasn't pleased. He remembered what Tonks said about auror missions. They usually last longer than they plan. That means there's a chance that he would miss Hogsmeade weekend. He quickly forgot about his breakfast and went up to his study. He quickly got out a quill and a piece of parchment and scribbled out a small letter.

* * *

_Ginny,_

_ Sorry I need to write fast. I've been sent on an auror mission. They say it would be around two weeks so there might be a chance I will miss your Hogsmeade weekend. Ron is coming too so tell Hermione. There is no contact at all so don't write back. I'm sorry._

_ Love,_

_ Harry James Potter_

_ Auror Trainee_

* * *

Harry felt bad giving Ginny such a small letter. He would have to tell her how sorry he is next time they see each other. Right now, Harry could only think of one thing. That was the mission that they were sending him and his best mate on. He packed up his clothes in an undetectable extension charm and flooed to the Ministry.

"Hello, Mr. Potter. You can take a seat next to Mr. Weasley." Kingsley said pointing to a seat next to Ron. Robinson was standing next to Kingsley and on the other side sat Arthur Weasley. Harry wondered if Molly knew what was going on. "Now that everyone is here, let's begin. Now since the end of the Battle of Hogwarts, we at the Ministry are capturing and rounding up remaining death eaters. We have located two on our top hit list. Their names are Rodulphus Lestrange, and Stan Shunpike. They will only be where they are for a short time. So these following aurors will be coming with head auror, Robinson. Um, Robbie Smith, Christopher Thomas, Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley and lastly Steven Spinnet, will you all please stay, everyone else may leave." Arthur came to the boys and gave them a quick pat on the back.

"I ask you to stay safe." He muttered to them and left the room. The five men stood in front of Kingsley.

"Um, Minister Shacklebolt, er, Ron and I aren't aurors." Harry said and Ron rapidly nodded. You could tell he was nervous for the mission. But he shouldn't be, he went on a six month hiding trip with barely any food last year and survived.

"Not to worry, Potter. You, out of all the trainees, will be able to work this mission. Anyway, I assume you all packed clothing." Everyone nodded. "Alright, the portkey is ready. There will be three tents there for everyone to share. One will be reserved for the Head Auror. Therefore there will be two tents for the five of you to share." Harry looked at Ron and Ron did the same. No matter what they were going to be in the same tent. "Alright, time for you to leave. Robinson, you may take over." Kingsley stepped off of the podium and Robinson took over. Kingsley left the room without a single word.

"Okay Potter, Weasley you two are the trainees, so this will be more of a learning experience than anything else." Ron and Harry nodded; they knew they'd be treated different than everyone else. Either they were going to be treated better because they were apart of the Golden Trio or they were going to be treated unfairly because they were trainees. Harry didn't care; the only thing he cared about was how Ginny was going to be mad or disappointed in him for missing her Hogsmeade weekend. Ginny always came back to his thoughts. Harry worried if it would be a distraction to him, but it's just a _learning experience _because they knew _nothing _about catching death eaters. They knew _nothing _about how they act or behave. Maybe their experience with constant fighting of death eaters since they were eleven meant nothing. Wow, Robinson was going to be in for a surprise.

"Alright, before the portkey wears out lets use it. Let's go." Everyone grabbed on and disappeared.

* * *

Something didn't feel right. Ever since she left Harry's flat to come back to Hogwarts, she couldn't help but feel like something was about to go wrong. Ginny walked down the corridors that led to the Gryffindor Common Room. As soon as she walked through the portrait hole she was ambushed with a hug from Hermione.

"Ow Hermione, Bugger off!" Hermione drew back almost instantly but her smile didn't disappear.

"Tell me, what happened!" It wasn't a question but a demand.

"Well, I flooed straight to his flat, almost scared him to death, told him off, apologized, slept in the living room, woke him up with a bottle of water, made him breakfast, threw away all of his booze, watched that muggle movie Cinderella, accidentally got seen by reporters, got yelled at by mum, then returned to his flat and almost repeated everything we did before." Ginny plopped down on the sofa in front of the fireplace. She was half asleep but she didn't care. She hadn't spoken to Hermione in an entire week.

"Wait a minute. You slept in Harry's flat?"

"Yes, and no to your twisted little mind. We didn't do anything."

"Oh come on Ginny, I'm not that dumb."

"Okay Hermione, the worst and most romantic thing we did was snuggle on the sofa and fall asleep in each other's arms. Okay and that's it. We even talked about _that._"

"And what did he say. Wait no, what did you say?"

"I told him I didn't want to do that until I was out of Hogwarts and had my life all planned out and put into action. He agreed with me. That's that."

"Okay but how many times have you snogged on this pre-honeymoon type week."

"Maybe three, four times at most. And this wasn't a 'pre-honeymoon type thing'. This was me being a good girlfriend and getting my boyfriend back on track. That's it."

But then an owl came scratching at the window of the Common Room. This was weird because owls go into the owlery, not to the windows. Ginny looked at Hermione for help, but Hermione sat there confused. She came to the window and took the letter of the owl's leg. The name made tingles shock up her spine. It said: _Ginny Molly Weasley. _Ginny looked up to Hermione with concern. Hermione nodded.

* * *

_Ginny,_

_ Sorry I need to write fast. I've been sent on an auror mission. They say it would be around two weeks so there might be a chance I will miss your Hogsmeade weekend. Ron is coming too so tell Hermione. There is no contact at all so don't write back. I'm sorry._

_ Love,_

_ Harry James Potter_

_ Auror Trainee_

* * *

Ginny read in silence, and then a silver tear slowly prickled down her cheek.

"Hermione, um, I don't know how to tell you." Hermione held out her hand for the note. Therefore Ginny wouldn't have to speak what was on her mind. While Hermione read it she had almost the same reaction. Except for saving her emotions as best as possible; she gasped and clapped her hand to her mouth and ran to Ginny to hug her. Now not only was Harry and Ron were worrying about the girls; but Ginny and Hermione were worried about the boys. "Um, I think I'm going to go to lunch… do you want to come with me?" Hermione hesitated for a moment and then lead the way to the Great Hall. They sat in silence for most of lunch. No one spoke until Neville broke the silence.

"So, um, how was your week off, Ginny?"

"Good." Ginny wasn't trying to be short with Neville. She was just trying to worry in peace.

"So, why are you all so silent?" Neville didn't understand why his friends were so quiet. He had known them from seven to eight years and they were never known to be quiet.

"Neville, Harry and Ron were sent on an auror mission. That's where aurors usually get injured or lost or…or…killed…" Ginny looked down at her food and sighed. What if Harry got killed? What if Harry got lost? Or worst what if Harry gets injured that is unfixable? Ginny wished she could have gone back in time and make sure that Harry and Ron couldn't go. _I can't belie- WAIT A MINUTE…Love, Harry James Potter…LOVE! He said Love in his letter. I mean he has said that he loves me to my face but he wrote it down…That MEANS HE ACTUALLY DOES! _Ginny smiled for a moment, if Harry actually loved her then that just raises her worries.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know…" Oh great now Neville felt guilty.

"It's okay Neville. I don't expect you to be psychic." Ginny answered back. Neville nodded but Ginny was completely sure that he wouldn't believe Ginny. But what could she do?

"Well, maybe you guys need to get your mind off of it. I mean, the more that you think about it," he pointed to his wrist watch, "the slower the time passes. The more you spend your time thinking or doing something else, the faster the time passes and the faster they'll come home."

"I wish you were right, Neville." Hermione said playing with her corn,

"Trust me, it is. It's something useful that Professor Trelawney taught me last year. It was more advice than anything else, but I don't think I'll ever forget it." Ginny took in what Neville said. In all the years that she knew Neville, she only saw him this clever a few times before. War brought out different traits in people, Neville's was cleverness and strength, Luna's was determination and courage, and Ginny's was full out rebel, mainly because last year she didn't care about anyone or anything.

"Can we change the topic…I'm sorry but it's getting a little too sad for me." Hermione blurted out, easing the silent tension that crossed the Gryffindor table.

"Have you finished the essay for History of Magic?"

"Oh no, I forgot about it!" Hermione said, clapping her hand to her forehead.

"And you forgot another thing about it." Ginny said scowling at her.

"And what's that?" Hermione asked, squinting her eyes.

"TELLING ME!" Ginny said in a nerving way before leaving the Great Hall.

* * *

Harry and Ron felt the cold mulchy ground under them as soon as they landed in their destination face first. They stood up as quickly as physically possible to impress their fellow aurors. Robinson had already started setting up his tent.

"Alright, who's sleeping where?" The pudgy man with brown hair named Spinnet demanded.

"How about we camp with you." Thomas said gesturing toward him and Smith. Harry and Ron glanced at each other. They expected this right from the start. Harry nodded toward the remaining tent. They left the three aurors and started to set it up. Once they did they entered it without another word to the remaining men.

"Do you think it was wrong of us to just take this tent and not say anything to the others?" Ron spoke up after shoving his bag under his bed.

"No. Don't forget Ron, they didn't want to share a tent with us at all. We were just settling the awkwardness by leaving."

"Awkwardness?" Ron asked lighting one of the candles.

"Ron, you know they were whispering to each other while we were setting up this stupid tent. They were talking about how they were going to tell us that they were staying together without us. To be honest, I don't care about them. Well in a personal way. Knowing me I would go fight for them if they were being attacked by death eaters of course."

"Harry, you don't need to explain that to me. I know you have that stupid characteristic about saving people's lives even if you hate them."

"Any examples, because I don't really believe you."

"Well first, we had Ginny in the Chamber of Secrets."

"Ron, you know I love her." Harry said in a quite serious tone.

"I know you do now. Think about it Harry. How well did you know her back then?"

"I knew her on an acquaintance level. I mean back then she was my best mate's little sister. Anyways, that wasn't an example because I never hated her."

"Well third year you saved Sirius and Buckbeak."

"But I saved him after I found out the truth, so I didn't hate him. And I always liked Buckbeak, he caused Malfoy pain."

"Fourth year you saved Gabrielle Delacour. And Fleur, and Krum, and Winky."

"But I never hated them, the Delacours and Krum were strangers to me. I was just saving an innocent live. And Winky was also an innocent house elf. Ron, you're sucking at finding an example."

"Just wait, mate. Fifth year you saved Me, Hermione, Ginny, Luna and Neville in the Department of Mysteries."

"But I put you in more danger than needed."

"Sixth year, you saved Ginny, Hermione and I when you gave us the rest of you liquid luck."

"Ron I don't hate you guys. You said I save people I _hate. _Not a single one of these examples fit that criteria."

"In the Battle of Hogwarts you saved Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabhini from dying in the Room of Requirement. Explain that to me."

"You can't just leave someone to die. Plus, Draco saved our arses in Malfoy Manor by not selling me out to Bellatrix."

"True, but that was my main example. Harry, you would save anyone and everyone if possible. If it were up to you, anyone with good intensions would be immortal."

"No, if it were up to me everyone with good intensions would live a happy and full life and not die young, Is that too much to ask for?" Ron shook his head. Then crashing of thunder shook the tent and made the boys jump.

"Wait, was there supposed to be a storm today in Britain?" Ron asked quizzically.

"No it was going to be in Britain tomorrow. Wait, are we in Britain?"

"I'm starting to think we aren't."


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: Thanks for getting this far in my story! Again instructive and nice critism please! If you don't like my story then simply click out of it, don't feel obligated to read it if you don't like the story! Trust me, I've been there before! Anyway, for the people who like a little action...enjoy :)**

"Potter, Weasley are you paying attention?"

"Of course sir." Harry replied to the already pissed off Robinson. Robinson nodded his head and returned to his map. Smith, Spinnet and Thomas were all laughing at the two of them. If only they weren't on the same team, Harry would curse them.

"Okay we'll ambush Lestrange in one hour exactly. Thomas from the east side, Spinnet from the north west, Weasley from the north, Smith from the south, Potter from the west, and I'll come from the south west. I know that there would be that stupid gap but Minister didn't give me enough aurors. You lot have to make sure he doesn't get out of there." Robinson pointed to Ron and Harry. This is exactly what Harry meant by being singled out for his accomplishments. Leave it to Robinson to give Harry and Ron the hardest and most pressured job out of all of them. "Now get back to your tents and I'll see you in forty-five minutes." All of the aurors nodded their heads and left the Head Aurors tent.

"Did you notice what Robinson just did to us?" Ron asked throwing his jacket onto his bed with anger.

"Yeah, I did. Ron, we should do this job perfectly and then he won't do that to us no more." Ron snorted.

"No it would give him another reason to call us out for things."

"Oh, so you want to do the job terribly?"

"No, he'd call us out for that and we'd never hear the end of it."

"So, what you saying is that we're going to have an endless vortex of humiliation?"

"Yes. It's all because we did a job that no one else in the whole world could do, kill Snake Face. And we did it. Which makes us more famous than Robinson or Spinnet or Smith or Thomas and now we have to endure them giving us the cold shoulder because of our experiences. It is just unfair."

"How would you rather be treated?"

"LIKE A NORMAL PERSON! You know like how we were or really who I was the first few weeks at Hogwarts. I don't think you have felt like a normal person since you were little over a year old." Harry snorted at the thought. He hasn't been known as a normal person in sixteen years. And he was almost sure that he wasn't ever going to go back as a normal person in the future. "Sorry, mate. I didn't mean it offensively. It was just a mere fact."

"I know. I'm not mad, actually I agree with you. But all I can say to you, Ron, is welcome to the club."

"I've already been apart of the club since we met Fluffy."

* * *

Ginny sat in the Common Room trying to write her essay for History of Magic that Neville and Hermione so kindly reminded her of. No matter how hard she tried to stay on topic, her mind couldn't stop drifting to Harry and Ron. Who were so kindly fighting someone in some god forsaken cottage. They both probably have blood dripping from their noses, or a bone sticking out of their arm, but even if they did, she would be the last person to get notified. She didn't understand why they would call Harry, of all aurors, and Ron to go on an auror mission. _AUROR _mission, it was not an _AUROR TRAINEE _mission. Why would they go? The other reason why she didn't understand why Harry and Ron went was because Harry just came out of his second depression in a year. He was in no fit state to go. WHY WOULD THEY GO?

"Hey, er, Ginny, right?" A chubby boy sat in the seat across from her. She didn't want to get into a conversation right now. She was too busy with missing homework and worrying about her boyfriend and brother to think of anything else.

"Yes…um…who are you?" Ginny asked as politely as she could.

"Well, my name is Carl. I was wondering if maybe you'd like to go to the next Hogsmeade weekend with me." The boy had a cocky expression on his face like he knew what her answer was going to be. "So when should I pick you up?"

"Wow, um, you are extremely mistaken. I'm seeing someone right now, so if you would just run along that would really be nice." Ginny returned to her books but the boy didn't budge.

"Let me guess, The Boy Who Lived? He's not good enough for you and you know it. He has been a complete mess all his life and doesn't see the real you. Maybe you should hang with a bloke like me."

"Oh, you mean a cocky, stuck up, stupid, uneducated, stubborn arse like you?" Ginny gave him a sarcastic smile, she was almost about to lose her temper when the boy scowled at her as his reply. "I can assure you that Harry is right up to par with me. If anything he's even more. So, I'll tell you again. IT WOULD BE NICE IF YOU RUN ALONG!"

"Fine, but mark my words, you'll be jealous of me one day." Ginny snorted at him as he walked away. Something about him reminded her too much of Dean. A road she never wanted to take ever again mainly because she was completely sure Harry was the one.

"Wow, nice making new friends, Gin." Hermione approached after having a laughing fest over how the last scene played out.

"Bugger off Hermione." Ginny said scratching the back of her head.

"Are you still mad at me?" Hermione was now sitting where to other boy sat before. Ginny looked at her best friend completely confused.

"When was I ever mad at you?" Now it was Hermione's turn to act confused.

"You yelled at me in the Great Hall. I thought you were mad at me."

"It's called sarcasm. I would tell you to look it up in the dictionary but I'm sure you've already read it from cover to cover." Hermione giggled at Ginny's comment.

"To be completely honest, I did read it from cover to cover way back when I started preschool…muggle school." Hermione knew Ginny had no clue what a preschool was. Ginny nodded then took advantage of this opportunity.

"Hey Hermione, can you help me with my essay?" Hermione rolled her eyes and stood up.

"I've had too much experience with Ron over the past years, Gin. Don't try that with me." Ginny sighed, if only Ron hadn't used Hermione throughout Hogwarts to get answer then maybe she could have finished her essay sooner.

* * *

There the two were, hiding behind a bunch of trees, waiting for Rodulphus Lestrange to exit his small cottage so they can ambush him. Ron and Harry were lucky enough to be by each other so they could sort of communicate and pass the time. Robinson would occasionally make a bird noise to make sure his crew was still out there and not asleep. Ron's eyes were slowly getting heavier and heavier and he couldn't stop but drift to sleep.

"Ron…" Harry whispered. He looked around the ground to find a rock in the darkness. Finally he found one glistening of the moon's light. He chucked it toward his best mate hoping it would wake him up. The rock hit Ron right in the shoulder, which made him jerk up for a moment. "Ron…you got to stay awake, mate. If Robinson sees you, your auror job is out the window…" Harry's whisper was intense enough for Ron to know how important this mission could be. Finally a figure walked out of the small cottage and onto the front porch. Robinson made a high pitched bird noise which meant that he wanted everyone to get ready for the ambush. Harry and Ron glanced at each other. The adrenaline was the worst part of this auror mission. Harry listened closely for Robinson's low dog bark, which meant it was time to get the job over with.

Finally the bark came subtly. Ron nodded to Harry and they all got their wands at the ready. Three tree knocks meant that it was time to stupefy him. knock...knock...knock.

"STUPEFY!" all six aurors yelled in unison. Six whitish-blue sparks rushed through the air and hit the man straight in the chest. He fell onto the ground but, the aurors stayed put. They needed to be absolutely sure that Lestrange was completely alone and that they wouldn't be the ones attacked. After ten minutes of constant waiting, The six aurors ran to the man who was lying on the ground. Indeed it was Rodulphus Lestrange who was stunned in the middle of the big porch. Robinson nodded toward Harry to check the windows and make sure no one else was in the cabin.

Harry slowly approached the first window to his left. There sitting in front of the fire with a cigar hanging out of his mouth was the man Harry and Dumbledore stood up for in his sixth year. He still had the disgusting pimple filled face with the worst shaggy hair. Harry winced as his recollection of his appearances came back.

"Robinson…Shunpike is in there." Robinson seemed surprised that they'd get two death eaters in one night.

"Is there any others in there with him?" Harry turned back to the window and made sure that no one was in the room with him. Harry tried to see if Shunpike had his wand with him or without him. There it was on the side table completely unguarded.

"No other death eaters are with him, and his wand isn't anywhere near him…unless it's Lestrange's." Thomas opened Lestrange's jacket to check and see if his wand was with him or not.

"It can't be because his wand is right here."

"Alright, Potter, Weasley you come with me. Spinnet, Thomas, and Smith take Lestrange to the Ministry. You know where the convicts go." The three nodded and apparated with Lestrange by their side. "Okay, let's get him before dawn arrives. It's harder to catch them during the day." Harry nodded then looked back in the window.

"Wait a minute…he looks like he fell asleep." Robinson punched the air like he just got what he wanted for his birthday.

"That means it would be easier to get him." Ron chipped in. Robinson turned to him and nodded. He slowly opened the door and stunned Stan before he could wake up. Right on target. Harry and Ron quickly ran him and carried him to the head auror.

"Alright, we need to get out of here before any unwanted visitors come." They all apparated with Shunpike to the Ministry. They walked through the corridors of the Ministry toward the convict registration area. Robinson gave Shunpike to the other three aurors so that they could get him isolated in his own room to be interrogated. He then turned to Harry and Ron.

"I want to give my apologize to you both. I'm sorry I doubted your abilities. Kingsley was completely sure that you two would be perfect for the mission and I didn't believe him. I thought you two were skilled but not ready. Now I believe that you two are even more professional than I expected."

"It's alright…so does this mean we can go home now?" Ron asked. Truth was he was yearning for one of his mum's homemade meals. He hadn't had one since they had been called away and prepackaged food wasn't cutting it for him.

"Sure, you both are free to return to your homes. I'll see you two in two days."

"Two days? Sir, don't we have training tomorrow?" Harry asked.

"Usually you do. But it's Ministry policy that you get two days off after any mission." Robinson gave them a curt smile and walked away toward the interrogation rooms. Ron turned to Harry and high-fived him.

"Yes! We did even better than we wanted to!" Harry snorted.

"Since when do you care what he cares about?"

"Never, but I take any compliment. Anyway I'm going to get a real meal. Will you be joining?"

"Sure. But let me go home. I need to do something first." Ron nodded and apparated home.

* * *

_Dear Ginny,_

_ I'm back, but Ron and I can't come to your Hogsmeade weekend, training is now pushed to the weekend for us so we can catch up. Again, I'm sorry but, I'm promising you that I'll make it up to you. You just got to trust me. Anyway, both of us are perfectly fine. Like I said, don't worry about us we'll be okay. Write back._

_ Love,_

_ Harry James Potter_

_ Auror Trainee_

**A/N: Thanks for reading! :)**


	27. Chapter 27

Everyday since Harry left for the auror mission, Ginny had been visiting the owlery as much as possible. She kept hoping that maybe an owl will update her on how Harry is doing. For the past days nothing has been addressed to her. Until, a snowy white owl came to her with a rolled up piece of parchment on his leg. Ginny felt tingles travel up her spine as she read the messy and scribbled hand writing. The hand writing she had been waiting for since she got the last letter. She sprinted out of the owlery and straight to Hermione.

"HERMIONE, THEY'RE OKAY! THEY'RE BACK! THEY'RE OKAY!" Hermione grabbed the paper from Ginny without a word. While reading the letter a smile grew on her face. It was so assuring that her boyfriend and best friend, who's also known as her brother by everything but blood, were okay.

"I can't believe it! Have you already sent them a letter?" Ginny shook her head; she knew what was coming next. "How about we send a conjoined letter!"

"Okay, let's go now!" Hermione nodded and followed Ginny to the Gryffindor Common Room.

_Dear Harry and Ron,_

_ We are so glad that you guys are home safe. We haven't talked to you both in so long. You've missed out on a few things. Like a guy hitting on Ginny in the common room. Don't worry, Harry, she turned him down straight away. Oh, how about all the guys who turn to look at Hermione. Don't worry, Ron, she passes them like they're invisible. We're sad to hear that you two won't be able to join us for Hogsmeade, but you better make it up like Harry will to Ginny, Ron. I took the quill from Hermione again. Sorry she's seems to get a little snippy through words. Ron, I don't appreciate that you showed Hermione all the Weasley tricks on how to get answers from smart people. You cost me help on my essay. You're lucky it's done now and turned in on time by the skin on my teeth. But I got no skin on my teeth, therefore it wasn't turned in on time at all and basically you're not lucky at all. Don't worry, I'm mentally preparing myself to bat-bogey hex you at Christmas. Speaking of which, Christmas is in six weeks and we can't wait, by the way it's now Hermione, We can't trust Ginny with the quill either. We hope everything is okay with you two. We want to know all the details of your first auror mission. It sounds like you two had a long week, so have we. With the most love a person can possibly give, we have to say goodbye._

_ We love you guys,_

_ Ginny & Hermione_

_ Seventh Year Hogwarts Scholars_

Molly was cooking a huge dinner for her family because her youngest children came back from their first auror mission. She had been worrying since her husband came home telling her about the meeting and them being called to go. Finally, when she saw Ron and Harry walk through the front door of the Burrow the worries disappeared in thin air. She set the table with enough plates and silver ware to fit her family that would be attending. The family sat down at the table and spoke about the auror mission and about the Quidditch the boys missed. But their conversation was interrupted by a snowy white owl.

"Merlin beard's, that's a ministry owl." Arthur said as he got up to take the letter from the bird. "Dear Arthur, Molly and family…We'd like to confirm the large deposit that was made to your account during June…Molly and Arthur Weasley received the amount of 300,000,000 galleons!" Arthur's eyebrows couldn't go up any further as his wife gasped with amazement. "Ronald Weasley received the amount of 250,000,000 galleons, but the rest of the family received 200,000,000 galleons each!" Arthur dropped the letter on to the table and stared into space.

"How on earth could we have gotten that deposit…That's not anything the Ministry would just give to fighters of the war would it?" Molly asked grabbing the letter to make sure her husband read it right.

"Mum, I don't think the Ministry has that much money to even offer! Does it say who might have given the money to us?" Percy asked grabbing the letter out of his mum's hands. The only person who didn't seem amazed by it was Harry, which Ron noticed from the start.

"Um, it says it was from an anonymous donor!" Molly said back glaring at the rudeness of her son. Ron gave a sly grin to Harry as Harry scooped up his sweet potatoes and didn't let his eyes up from his plate.

"Wait Mum, there's someone here who isn't being completely honest." Ron said turning toward Harry. "Harry, by any chance do you know who could have given us that money?" Harry looked up at the six pairs of eyes staring at him.

"I have ideas of who it could be." Harry said coolly.

"Oh really, are you lying to us?" Harry looked up at Ron and wrinkled his nose.

"Well, you haven't asked me anything, and I haven't answered anything at all, therefore there's no possible way I've been lying to you." Harry looked back down at his plate of food without thinking twice about it.

"Well, do you know who donated this much money?"

"Yes."

"And would you give us his name?"

"Well, if the letter said that he wanted to be anonymous then maybe we should let him be." Harry was avoiding any eye contact.

"Guys, I think Harry donated all that money to us!" Harry looked at Ron with mystery in his eyes.

"Oh really, you _think _I did. But like one despising man once told me, you have to prove it. Until you do, then we can all come to the conclusion that I didn't give out any money." Harry looked down at his wrist watch and gasped. "It's very late, I have to go home now."

"What possibly could be at home that's not here?" Ron asked taken back.

"Oh you know, pajamas, tooth brush, my bed. The auror mission took a lot out of me, so I'd like a good night's sleep. Thank you again, Mrs. Weasley, the dinner was lovely!" Harry said hugging the only woman coming close to his mother.

"Oh you're very welcome, dear." Molly said as she sat back down.

"I'm going to prove it was you, Harry!" Ron yelled as his best mate walked toward the coat rack.

"Okay, have fun trying to! Bye, guys!" Harry apparated back to his flat without another word. Phew, that was close.

It was the next morning and, before Harry left and the Weasleys got the letter, they had invited him to the Burrow for the day. Of course Harry accepted their invite. Now that they got that letter about the deposit in their vault, Harry wished he hadn't. He got dressed and ate a small breakfast because he knew Molly would insist him on eating one of her breakfasts. He grabbed his jacket and apparated to the Burrow. He took one last deep breath before knocking on the front door. The door swung open at a high speed.

"MUM, HARRY'S HERE!" Ron yelled without taking his eyes off of Harry. He had a small smile on his face like he knew what was about to happen.

"HARRY! Come into the kitchen, dear." Harry looked at Ron for help but all Ron could give him was a plotted smirk.

"What's going on?" Harry whispered to Ron as they walked to the kitchen together.

"You'll see." Ron whispered back, clapping his hand on Harry's shoulder. Harry walked into the Burrow's kitchen to find Molly making pancakes and the rest of the family sitting at the table. Harry watched Ron leave his side and sit at the table with the rest. Everyone was staring at him, which was making him feel a little uncomfortable.

"What did I do?" Harry asked to everyone, he couldn't take the silence no more.

"You told us to prove our theory that you donated that money to us. So here is our proof." Bill said slowly. Harry snorted and sat down at the table, the entire table was taken except for Ginny's seat. He felt wrong sitting where Ginny sits, but that's all he could do.

"Okay, then hit me with your ideas on it." Harry looked straight into Bill's eyes.

"Okay, well we believe that during your depression, you went to Gringotts and made the deposit to fill up your guilt, and then forgot to tell us when Ginny got you back on your feet." Harry shook his head with a smirk.

"Nope."

"Oh well, okay then. We have other theories too!" Bill was now getting frustrated that the first theory didn't pan out like suspected.

"Okay, then let me hear them."

"Well, we believe you donated the money way back before you came to the Burrow back before your sixth year. Because you weren't seventeen yet, it didn't get deposited then. And because the Ministry was under the influence of death eaters last year, it didn't get deposited then either. Now that the Ministry is okay and back running strong they just gave it to us." Harry shook his head.

"Nope."

"Er, well we have one more…But this one will be spot on."

"Say it."

"We believe that you donated the money yesterday out of the kindness of your heart. That's why the owl came last night and you stayed so silent." Harry shook his head with another smirk.

"Nope." All the Weasleys looked at him with amazement. For once they couldn't figure a mystery out together.

"Well find out soon enough. Then we'll come back to the subject."

"Okay you do that, anyways I have to speak with Ron for a second." Everyone was a little optimistic with Harry's tone. "Don't worry he's not in trouble, or anything it's about something completely off topic." Ron got up and left the kitchen and entered the living room.

"Okay mate, what is it?"

"Okay, I told the girls that we couldn't come to Hogsmeade tomorrow."

"Why would we do that? I mean of course I want to go see Hermione. If something is going on between you and Ginny leave it for you two to handle and leave us out of it!" Ron's voice was rising at every word.

"No, no, no, I want to surprise them!" Ron's red face of anger settled down into his usual color.

"Oh….well have do we do that?"

"Okay, I was thinking we use a glam and disguise us as other blokes. We should be completely obnoxious and flirt with them. Obviously me with Ginny and you with Hermione. Visa-versa would be weird." Ron snorted. "Anyway, once they start getting all defensive and on edge that's when we take off the glam. I don't think they'll expect us."

"But will we know where they are?"

"Ron, has all this delicious food gone to your brain? I have the Marauders map. Plus they always go to the Three Broomsticks first, so we can just go there for their great surprise." Ron nodded.

"Good idea, mate." The boys returned to the kitchen and again everyone was staring at the two."

"What's going on?" Ron asked confused.

"Now, a one act play by George and Charlie…" Percy said shaking his head like he didn't approve.

"Dear Harry and Ron," George read a piece of parchment in a high voice. "We are so glad you have come home safe. You have missed so much here at Hogwarts. Like a guy hitting on Ginny in the Common Room. Don't worry, Harry, she turned him down." George gave the letter to Charlie so he can fill his part as Ginny.

"Oh, how about all the guys who stare at Hermione as she walks down the corridors. Don't worry, Ron, she acts as though they're invisible." Charlie was using the same high pitch, mocking voice as George. Charlie handed the parchment over to George so he could be Hermione.

"We're very sad to hear you won't be able to join us at Hogsmeade. You better make it up, Ronald, like Harry is to Ginny!" George smiled and gave the parchment back over to Charlie.

"I took the quill from Hermione, again. She seems a bit snippy through words…Ron, I don't appreciate how you used all the Weasley tricks on Hermione to get answers out of her. You cost me help on my essay. You're just lucky that I turned it in on time by the skin of my teeth. But, there isn't skin on my teeth, therefore I didn't turn it on time at all and basically you're not lucky. Don't worry, I'm mentally preparing myself to bat-bogey hex you at Christmas." Charlie looked up at Ron and handed the parchment to George.

"Speaking of which, Christmas is coming up in six weeks. It's Hermione by the way; it seems we can't let Ginny have the quill either. We hope everything is okay with you two. We want to know all the details of your first auror mission. It sounds like you two had a long week, so have we. With the most love a person can possibly give, we have to say goodbye." George put the parchment halfway in between them.

"Love, Ginny and Hermione." They said in unison with one hand on their chests. Everyone turned to see the boys' reactions to their little get together. Ron's ears were bright red and Harry was blushing almost completely.

"Seems you two have a couple fiery girlfriends. They can't even write a simple _we love you and hope you're okay _letter without threats." Percy said. Molly seemed enraged by that letter which George decided to key in on.

"What's got your knickers in a twist, Mum?"

"Ginny didn't turn in her essay on time and is threatening her brother to bat-bogey hex him on Christmas. I swear if she even pulls out her wand she has another thing coming." Molly stormed away from the table and over to the stove. "Anyone want some pancakes?" Everyone nodded. They needed to get Molly's mind off of her daughter's behavior before she goes completely mental.

"Wait a moment…why are you two not going to meet them at Hogsmeade tomorrow?" Arthur asked to Harry and Ron.

"We are but they don't know it. We're going to surprise them." Ron answered coolly. The day went by slowly. It was raining outside so they couldn't go play Quidditch, and all Harry could think about was the Hogsmeade trip where they were going to see the girls for the first time in what seemed ages. The only thing he hoped for was that Ginny wouldn't get mad at him for the whole concept of the surprise. Hopefully they wouldn't go on too strong that Ginny would hurt them before they even take off the glam.

It was Saturday morning which meant it was time to go and visit Hermione and Ginny at Hogsmeade. Ron came over to Harry's flat the night before and stayed in the guest room. It was the first time that Ron had ever been at Harry's new flat and he thought it was brilliant. The Gryffindor colors were a nice touch in Ron's mind. They got up early in the morning to eat and start on the glam.

"I think that I should be blonde and you should be brunette." Harry said to Ron.

"Okay, I don't think that your eyes should be the same shade of green…or green at all. It gives you away and I should just have ordinary brown eyes." Harry nodded and took out his wand. He muttered a spell and changed the appearance of his best friend. "So how do I look?"

"You look too much like yourself. Maybe if we change your skin tone and the shape of your face you won't look too familiar." Ron nodded and closed his eyes before Harry made the second glam.

"Alright how do I look now?" Ron asked keeping his eyes closed.

"Look at yourself in the mirror. I think you look decent." Ron opened his eyes and went straight to the bathroom.

"Ah, bloody hell." Harry laughed at Ron.

"Now me." Harry pushed Ron away from the mirror so Harry could glam himself. After about fifteen minutes Harry and Ron looked like two different people. They apparated straight to Hogsmeade and walked to the Three Broomsticks. When they opened the door Harry's eyes went straight to the redhead that was seated across from a bushy brown haired girl. Harry gave a quick nod to Ron then made his way over to Ginny with him by his side.

"Well, hello ladies." They said in unison. Ginny glanced at them then back at Hermione.

"I'm sorry but we really aren't here to mingle." Hermione said before taking a sip of her butter beer.

"Don't worry. We aren't here to mingle…just claim our prize." Ron said back. Harry was trying so hard not to laugh and give it all away.

"Sorry but we're already claimed." Hermione said completely serious

"Oh we know. You're Ginerva, eh? I see you in the paper a lot, you and that rubbish to society." Harry said directing the attention to Ginny.

"He is not rubbish to society. Without him there would be no society." Ginny was modeling a disgusted look on her face. A look that Harry couldn't bare to have directed toward him.

"Well, if he's not rubbish to society, then he must be just a rubbish boyfriend. As I can tell you're all alone here." Harry took the empty seat next to Ginny but Ginny scooted away from him.

"He's at work, thank you very much. And he's a perfect boyfriend."

"Sure he is. But don't you agree that you need someone better." Ginny snorted.

"Oh really? I need someone better? Let me tell you that I don't need anyone better than Harry because there is no such thing." Ginny was now completely on defense.

"Yeah, who raised you to talk to a woman like that?" Hermione asked also disgusted by Harry's words. Harry was even disgusted by his own words.

"What about you? Where's that dumb arse, ginger with the stupid blue eyes?" Ron asked sitting next to Hermione.

"He's not a dumb arse…most of the time. And he is also at work."

"Well we can't let you two just sit here alone. How about we just borrow you for today and give you back when it's over."

"We're not objects. You can't just borrow us and if you try my boyfriend will kill you with one punch." Hermione said completely on edge.

"My boyfriend has an army of followers. They're bound to kill you before you can apologize." Ginny said to Harry. If only she knew it was Harry.

"Oh come on, I bet I can show you a better day than that good for nothing bloke has." Harry said with both eye brows raised. Ron laughed a little while Harry kept the steady smile planted on his face.

"Oh, really. I bet you can't. The days I spend with Harry are my happiest. No other days could be better. Especially with a rude, stubborn arse, pissed face drunk, untidy, uneducated cow like you." Ginny was now completely pissed off. Her face was red and she had danger in her eyes.

"Oh come on, we don't mean any harm. We're completely sure that that Ronald and that Harry would be perfectly fine with us spending the day with you two." Ron said smirking.

"Oh really, and how can you be so sure?" Hermione said disgusted by the cocky attitude this boy had. Harry nodded at Ron and took his wand out, Ron did the same. Ginny and Hermione tensed up a little in case they were going to be attacked. The boys put their wands to their faces and muttered something. Then slowly the blonde boy's hair grew darker and the brunette boy's hair became brighter. Their eyes started to change colors. The brunette boy's skin tone grew paler. Ginny couldn't suppress a gasp as all the changes started. Finally sitting next to her was Harry Potter, or a Harry Potter look alike.

"How do we know you're not just a fan?" Ginny asked like she wasn't completely sold. The other boy's changes were taking longer to come into place.

"Because I'm a stubborn arse, non-willingly famous man who just came back from an auror mission. Along with his best mate, Ron, who agreed that we should surprise our girlfriends with this little bit." Ginny squinted her eyes in disbelief.

"When was the last time I saw you?"

"Before you flooed back to Hogwarts. You stayed at my flat for a week because I was being incredibly barmy. McGonagall let you come and stay with me to get me back on track, which you didn't need to stay that long, though you did anyway. The last words I said to you were 'I promise I won't'. That promise was about me getting drunk again." Ginny's eyes grew wide, but then anger reappeared. She slapped him hard on the cheek. "Ow, what the hell, Gin?" Harry asked putting his hand to his cheek.

"DON'T YOU EVER DO THAT TO ME AGAIN, HARRY JAMES POTTER! I WAS SO UNCOMFORTABLE WITH THAT STUPID BIT. I NEARLY BAT-BOGEYED HEXED YOU!" Hermione turned to the boy who was sitting next to her. But it wasn't the brunette boy from before; now it was Ronald Weasley. Her Ronald Weasley.

"DON'T THINK YOU'RE NOT IN TROUBLE EITHER! THAT WAS NOT FUNNY!" Harry looked and Ron and Ron did the same. The two men started to grow it fits of laughter. But the two girls stayed the same, angry, confused and surprised.

"Oh come on, Gin. You have to agree it was funny... up until you slapped me." Harry said smiling.

"I'm not agreeing to anything," Ginny's face grew weaker, then she grabbed him into a hug suddenly, "but, I'm glad you're here!" Harry hugged her back.

"Do I get a hug?" Ron asked Hermione, who was also growing weak in her face. She grabbed Ron's face and quickly pulled him into a passionate kiss. Something Hermione usually wouldn't do.

"EW, Hermione could you snog my brother somewhere else?" Ginny said with Harry's arm around her waist and her's around his. The two snoggers broke up immediately.

"Sorry, unlike you, I haven't seen my boyfriend in a long time." Hermione said with sarcasm in her voice. Ginny rolled her eyes then returned to her boyfriend.

"So, how was your auror mission?" Harry looked at Ron and shrugged.

"It was okay, I guess. I mean we were singled out by Robinson because we're only auror trainees, then we had our own tent because no one wanted to be near us. Then we finally got the two death eaters and Robinson apologized and said we're better than expected." Ginny smiled at Harry.

"You're better than I remember, you seem a bit more buff and so do you, Ron!" Hermione nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, you two are looking good, now." Ron's ears turned red. If only they could stay there forever.

"So am I really like that?" Harry asked breaking the silence.

"Like what?" Ginny looked around at the others to see if they knew what he meant by that.

"A rude, stubborn arse, pissed face drunk, untidy, uneducated cow?"


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N: Sorry it took so long, Competition Season kicked off this weekend and I have been rehearsing a lot. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter more than the last! Enjoy :)**

"Potter! Weasley! Come see me in my office, now." Robinson called into the gym that was filled with auror trainees. Harry looked at Ron to see if he knew anything about what was going on. The only thing Ron could provide him with was a shrug. They walked into Robinson's office and plopped down on the seat across from him. "Okay, well I have spoken with the Minister about the auror mission from last week. We both feel you two have proven yourselves greatly."

"Um, okay, but why did you take us out of the gym?" Harry asked.

"We believe that maybe you two don't need to go through auror training. We think you're fit to be Ministry aurors now. We have a cubicle set up for each of you. You are going to be assigned to the Rowle investigation. But you'd be under a different Auror."

"But your Head Auror." Ron said.

"I am, but there are different levels of aurors. There are the rookies, where you will be, then there are the intermediates, which are ahead of the rookies, then there are the advanced, which are ahead of the intermediates, and there is a Head Auror, who overpowers all. You two will start like everyone else, rookies. You won't get an assistant like the higher levels, and you'll have to listen to your intermediate auror, also known as your bosses. More you prove yourself the more you get promoted. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes you do, but why do we get to skip training?" Harry wasn't sold on skipping ahead. It was the exact opposite of what he wanted to do. It just makes him look like he gets everything because he is famous.

"Because, you two have been going through the course like it's your first year at Hogwarts. You two are too advanced to be going through training. Also Minister says that there is something special in you two, and he doesn't want to waste time waiting for you two to get trained up to catch death eaters." Ron smiled and nodded, Harry nodded but didn't smile. He was getting special treatment because he was who he was. "Alright, go home and get some office supplies. I expect you to come in at eight o'clock tomorrow morning. Being punctual is a good start, if your not…well…you'll see." Ron and Harry left the office and started to walk down the Ministry's corridors.

"That's amazing mate. We did it. No more stupid tests!" Ron was practically over the moon with this news. But Harry just shrugged it off. "Come on, Harry, I know you don't like special treatment, but, you have got to be excited about this!"

"Ron, we're not properly trained. I think we're being set up for disaster."

"I don't think that _Kingsley _would do that. Mind you, this is the man who is all calm and collected and at peace with everything. I'm pretty sure he's doing this to boost us up."

"You're probably right. So, do you know what we're supposed to buy?"

"I have no clue, but I'm taking this as an afternoon off! How about we go to a pub and celebrate?" If he could, Ron would be bouncing off the walls of the Ministry right now.

"Sorry, mate, can't. I promised Ginny I wouldn't drink a single ounce of alcohol while she's gone at Hogwarts." Ron snorted.

"As much as I like you keeping your promises to her, I'm pretty sure she wouldn't mind you having one drink."

"She wouldn't even let me keep one bottle in my flat. She said that no alcohol will come near me until she's there to supervise and everyone knows I'm trustworthy with it."

"What did she mean by 'trustworthy with it'?"

"I think she meant something like, not abusing it, not getting drunk everyday, not over drinking; knowing my limits."

"I guess she's probably right, I mean, you did just come out of a mini depression after a long and hard depression not that long ago. She's probably just looking out for you." The two walked in silence until they were completely out of the Wizarding world and in Harry's flat.

"So, what should we do now?" Harry asked after getting a glass of pumpkin juice out of the refrigerator.

"Maybe we should write to the girls and tell them the news."

"Okay, there's parchment in my study, come on."

_Dear Ginny and Hermione,_

_ Ron and I have been promoted today. Now I know what you two are thinking, we're not even considered an auror yet, how could we have been promoted? Well we've been promoted out of training. We are now aurors. Ron, of course, is celebrating because he doesn't have to take anymore tests without Hermione there in front of him, writing big enough so he can copy off of her. I, on the other hand, don't really care about this stupid promotion. I think it's another thing for someone to hold against me; another reason for the others to hate me and make me an outcast. Well, let's just see what happens. Hope school is going well. Ron's already missing you, Hermione. Don't worry Gin, your missed too._

_ With love,_

_ Harry and Ron_

Harry attached the letter to his new owl and turned back to Ron.

"Hey, Harry, I was wondering what you and Ginny's plans were after she graduated from Hogwarts?" Harry sighed, he didn't want her brother to get all psycho on him.

"Well, I think she plans on moving out of the Burrow and we still plan on being together. But that's all we're sure about right now. What about you and Hermione?"

"Well, her parents will be moving back from Australia, so that might change everything. I think she plans on buying her own flat and working to improve the Ministry. She said something about taking S.P.E.W to the next level or working against prejudice against Muggle Borns. I plan on moving out of the Burrow soon. I mean it's weird living in the Burrow without my siblings. I take that back, since the battle, Charlie has been staying with us, but he might go back to Romania soon. And at first I thought Ginny would be with me, after she graduated but now that you tell me she wants to move out, I'll be the only one, plus Mum and Dad, living there. It won't feel right."

"I know what you mean, you've always lived in a full house, now that there's only three plus one visiting, it's a different feeling."

"Well, yeah, I mean, there wasn't always just my family, ever since I went to Hogwarts others have been coming to visit the Burrow. I mean you and Hermione, Remus and Tonks, Fleur, and half the Order. Sometimes I thought that my house was a hotel. And don't forget, while we were on the run that was the first time I lived with just two other people. AND they weren't even my family, well; you are my family, but not the family I've known since March 1st, 1980. You know?" Harry nodded. He hadn't really experienced a continuous loving family since he was born. He had a continuous loving family since he was twelve, but that was just six years. Ron had one for eighteen. It must have been hard for him and no one really acknowledged that. "What do you think being aurors going to be like?" Ron asked taking Harry out of his daze.

"I have no clue. I mean it won't be like what we did throughout Hogwarts. I don't think we'll have a say in what we do, we will HAVE to do it."

"That's probably going to be the weirdest part; not taking orders from a friend that knows your limits. We're going to have to take orders from a complete stranger who might not care if you die out there."

"Okay, I think they would care if we die under their orders."

"Okay, Harry, they'd get in a little trouble, speak at a funeral, and get on with their day. If it was our friend, they'd honor you, cry for you, and help out your family, stick up for you when needed, try to bring you back to life. It's quite a difference."

"Your right, let's just hope we don't need to worry about that." Harry said before leading Ron out of his study.

Ginny walked into the Great Hall star struck. She was paled and had a surprised look on her face. Hermione immediately responded to this. It wasn't very often she'd look like this.

"Ginny what's wrong?" Ginny looked at Hermione with the same expression.

"Nothing." But she was still paled.

"No, something has happened. You don't look well."

"I feel fine, Hermione. The boys have been promoted." Ginny said handing Hermione the letter. She quickly scanned the paper by the end she was amazed.

"If only they could tell us why they've been promoted….I still can't believe this."

"Neither can I, by the look of Harry's handwriting, it looks like he doesn't care at all. By how messy it is, I don't think he wants to be promoted."

"Well you know how Harry is. He's been modest since Merlin knows when."

"I blame Vernon, Petunia, and Dudley Dursley for that. I'm going to write back." Ginny said grabbing the letter and standing up.

"Okay, give them my congratulations….and love." Hermione said before resuming her conversation with Hannah Abbott.

_Dear Harry,_

_ I'm writing you a separate letter from Ron, because I want to say more personal stuff that I know will make Ron queasy, which is the best torture there is. Anyway, it's only Tuesday and I miss you already. As much as I was mad at you for tricking me, and thinking that you were some cocky cow, Saturday was truly the best day I had in a while. Not only did I get to spend it with you but I also got to spend it with the other two important people in my life, my best friend and my best brother. But seeing my boyfriend was the best part. Not only my boyfriend, but the love of my life. I think you know that I've never had the best luck with boys. First I dated a complete sore loser, and then I dated a boy who should have just stayed my friend. I hate saying this, but I feel sorry for the next girl who dates him. But once you kissed me in the Common Room my luck changed. I love you so much that I can't even put it in words. Everyday in class, my thoughts drift back to you, everyday I visit our tree by the Black Lake, I try to be as good as a Quidditch Captain as you every practice, and every day I eat a large slice of Treacle Tart just for you. And everyone keeps wondering why my grades are sucking this year. I wish you could be here with me, but I know how important saving the world is to you. Don't worry I'm not mad, it's one of the things that make me love you even more. I'm so proud of you for getting a promotion. Can you believe that I already know, without talking to you about it, that you don't want to get promoted? That you'd rather stay in training like every one else. Can you believe that I gathered this all from your handwriting? Hermione believes that that is creepy, but I don't care, to me it's a sign. Hopefully you feel the same about it as me. _

_ Today I visited the Black Lake before going to the Great Hall. I visited our tree from your sixth year. The carving "HP+GW Forever" is still there. I remember when you were a little hesitant about carving that because you were afraid that you weren't going to live after the war, or that we'd start hating each other, but I can assure you AGAIN that that's never going to happen. How am I so sure? Well let's just say I didn't keep my feelings for one bloke since I was five for nothing. I mean every word that I've written. That carving was my inspiration last year. The inspiration that there was still going to be a 'you and me' after the war. I know that that sounds stalkerish and what not, but its how I feel. I think you and my dad are the only men in my life who can keep up with me…my dad might soon not be able to anymore. I think I'm the only one that can get you to talk about your feelings better than Hermione and Ron. Correct me if I'm wrong, but no Cho Chang could do that. Sorry I had to write that. I kiss the picture of us that Colin Creevey took of us kissing in the Common Room after the Championship. That's when my life got fifty percent better and Ron's life fifty percent more awkward. Sometimes I catch myself staring at that photo when I should be studying. Is that weird? Did you even know that photo existed? The photo is sort of humorous because Ron is in the background with the best face ever. Then there's Hermione who is standing next to him with a humongous smile on her face. I think she always knew, sooner or later, that we'd get together. I mean I told her everything, and I wouldn't be surprised if you did the same. Don't worry she hasn't told me anything you've said. Even though I would love to know. Maybe I'll learn soon. I love you Harry. More than anything. I love your beautiful eyes, your messy hair that can't be tamed, you funny round glasses. I love your modesty, your humor, your enthusiasm, your annoying tendency to save people, even your patience and temper that is close to the same as mine. Over all I love you. I don't know why I decided to write this now. After you got promoted and I'm not there. I just needed to tell you. _

_ I love you,_

_ Ginny_

Harry smiled at her letter. He ran to his Hogwarts Trunk that hadn't been opened since his sixth year at Hogwarts, and took out the dusty, old pink valentine card that was given to him by her in his second year. He stared at it and read the song to himself. He took out a parchment and a quill.

_Dear Ginny,_

_ You forgot a few parts,_

_ "Your eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad,_

_ Your hair is as dark as a black board,_

_ I wish you were mine,_

_ You are really divine,_

_ The hero who conquered the Dark Lord."_

_I could go on about how your eyes are as brown as chocolate, and how your hair is as red as a beautiful fire, but I suck at words so I can't make a poem like you. So I'll just tell you what I feel like in a short sentence. I love you and can't live without you._

_ Love,_

_ Harry_

**A/N: I hope you liked it, I wanted it to be so romantic and fluffy that it was heart warming and touching. I think after Ginny graduates, I'm going to make a For The Time Being Part 2, don't worry it will be linked up to this story, I won't leave you hanging or searching. Please Review! :D**


	29. Chapter 29

Ginny couldn't hold the tears back. Harry's letter might have been short, but it meant the world to her. HE REMEMBERED THE VALENTINE. She thought by now he might have thrown it away, or forgot about it. But he didn't. The tears wouldn't stop no matter how hard she tried to hold them back. They were happy tears not sad. Hermione walked in on Ginny's moment with that short letter. Hermione thought someone was hurt, or missing, or dead. She grabbed the letter from Ginny. Ginny didn't fight back. Hermione read it to herself. She looked back at Ginny with tears in her eyes. She couldn't believe that Harry was so open with Ginny. Not that it was a bad thing; it was just a different perspective of Harry that she never saw before.

"You know he loves you, a lot." Ginny smiled. "Has he told you about us being on the run?" Ginny shook her head with a sparkling tear falling down her left cheek. "Before, he went to sleep every night; he would stare at your dot on the Marauders map. I think you comforted him the most. When we got news about you being caught for attempting to steal the Sword of Gryffindor, he thought about it for days. I'm almost sure that he was worried that you didn't just get detention with Hagrid. I think that's why he seemed so frantic about the scars on your arms and face. I think, he thinks those were from your second round of detention. I spoke to Neville about it again, and he assured me that no one got second rounds of detention. He also told me that you got tortured more than once or twice. Ginny if you love him so much, I think that you need to tell him every Cruciatus you endured and every reason. He might be shocked at first but it's the right thing to do."

"Hermione, he knows that what I told him isn't the whole story. He told me to wait until I'm strong enough to resume it. He told me he's proud of everything I did last year, even if I was a psycho-path. I just poured my heart out to him in my last letter, and he wrote back the best reply I could ask for. I know that if I tell him the truth nothing will change but I don't want to reenter my memories from last year. I tried and look what happened. I left the Burrow for an entire night. I just can't talk about it right now." Hermione patted her friends shoulder.

"That's okay Ginny. I just wanted to make sure that you would let him know soon enough. I stopped listening to Neville when it got too scary. And Ginny, in the past year I've seen some pretty scary things. You know what I think?" Ginny looked up at her bushy haired friend. "I think you faced things that Harry would cower to, and let me tell you something, Harry cowers down to nothing." Ginny snorted.

"I hate how everything works out. You know, like I stand up for what I believe in and now I have to explain the hardest thing in my life to my family. I date the love of my life and then we have reporters trying to ruin it. Why can't that all just not exist?"

"Because without it, life wouldn't be interesting." Hermione said standing up from the Common Room couch. "Are you coming?" Ginny looked up with confusion.

"You know, Hagrid invited us for tea today. Didn't I tell you?"

"Hermione, you tell me the most unneeded information like homework and test dates, and you forget to tell me the important stuff like couples and invites. You need to work on it." Hermione snorted but Ginny's expression didn't change.

"You're kidding right?"

"No."

"Ginny, I think homework and test dates are more important than couples and invites."

"Not in my world."

"Oh, it's only beginning of November and I am already about to pull my hair out." Now Ginny snorted. They made there way to Hagrid's hut for tea.

"You came!" Hagrid said with a very large smile on his face.

"Of course we would, Hagrid. Why wouldn't we?"

"Oh, I don't know, I thought you two only were friendly with me because of Harry."

"Of course not. You have been a friend of mine since first year!" Hermione said hugging the half giant.

"So, how's school been going? I haven't spoken to either of you for a while now."

"Well, you know nothing much has happened. This year I'm trying to catch Ginny up on all the things she didn't learn in her sixth year."

"Yeah, I suppose last year wasn't the best for you, eh?" Hagrid asked Ginny.

"No, not at all. I think the most enjoyable part was when we got detention with you. Mainly because you didn't crucio us."

"Yeah, Pomphrey, McGonagall, Sprout, Binns, Flitwick, Slughorn and I were the only ones." Ginny nodded with a half smile planted on her face. "Anyway, it's better this year, eh?"

"Loads." Ginny responded.

"Speaking of which, how's the boys these days?"

"Good actually. They got promoted on Monday, not even three days ago. Well not promoted, they were chosen to skip training and become aurors without being fully trained. I think it's amazing but apparently Harry thinks it's preposterous." Hermione said rolling her eyes.

"You know Harry, doesn't like being ahead of anyone. Speaking of Harry, how's he doing?" Ginny knew exactly what he meant.

"Well, he got out of his first depression at the end of May end of June, then summer break went okay. But when we returned here, he fell back into a depression. So, I took a week off of school, well I wanted to take two days off but McGonagall insisted on a week. Anyway I got him back on his feet then came back. Now they're trying to catch remaining death eaters."

"Good for him overcoming that. Not many people can. That reminds me, Ginny, McGonagall told me that you didn't choose a career to do last year."

"True."

"She told me that you said, 'I don't think I'll live that long.' That's a bit worrying."

"Hagrid, the entire year was a bit worrying. That comment meant nothing compared to my actions last year." Hermione listened to the two in utter shock.

"Well, what are you planning on doing?"

"I'm starting to think I should play Quidditch. I mean my grades are absolutely terrible, I'm good at Quidditch, maybe that's what I'll do."

"Well, you should have a backup plan. Not that I don't think you can make it in Quidditch, it's more of, Quidditch is risky. You can get injured to the point where you can't play anymore. If that happens what would you do?"

"I don't know maybe I'll just live out of my parent's house. They don't want me to grow up." Ginny said with a gigantic grin on her face.

"Okay then…Hermione, what are you planning on doing?" Hagrid said to Hermione.

"Oh, I think I'll work for the Ministry to improve Muggle and Muggle-born rights." Hagrid nodded.

"I always knew you would grow up to improve the rights of something important to yer. I'm proud of the both of yuz."

"Thanks." The two girls said in unison.

"Well, the sun is setting so yuz better get up to the castle. Just because the punishments aren't as cruel as they were last year doesn't mean they don't exist." He said to Ginny, who turned bright red. The cruelness of the punishments last year didn't stop her then, how would softer punishments stop her now? The girls left the hut.

"Ginny, what did Hagrid mean by that?"

"By what?"

"Your comment to McGonagall last year."

"Oh nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Yes, Hermione, nothing. I didn't think that I'd live through the war. I thought once a battle broke out that I'd be a goner, okay?"

"No, that's not what you meant, I know it."

"What do you think I meant by it?"

"I think you meant that you were going to give as much hell to the Carrows to the point where they would kill you." Ginny paled. Hermione was spot on, but Ginny would never admit that.

"Come on, I have a lot of Homework due to Binns." Ginny said speeding up her pace.

_Dear Harry,_

_ I think that you need to talk to Ginny. I'm sorry but I promised Ginny I would never speak for her, but I think she was in more danger last year than she says. You know how McGonagall asks everyone in there sixth year what career they would like to pursue, right? Well, Ginny told her that she didn't think she'd live that long. Neville tells me the most scariest stories I've ever heard about Ginny, to the point where I question her sanity, I think you need to talk to her as soon as possible._

_ Sincerely,_

_ Hermione._

Hermione reread her letter three times. Every time feeling guiltier than the last. As she reread it for the fourth time she quickly crumpled it up and threw it in the fire. She couldn't tell Harry behind Ginny's back. That would be the best way to completely betray Ginny's trust. Every time she spoke to Neville she learned more about the year. She stopped talking about it with him, because she was afraid to hear more. She mentally couldn't take it. Ginny was truly a hero for her actions but a coward for not telling her family. Hermione knew that once they figured out, Ginny would go through the wringer with scoldings and shunnings. She thought that's why Ginny wouldn't tell her family. She was too scared. If only life was less complicated.

Harry couldn't stop thinking of Ginny now. Ever since he read that letter the redhead had been in his mind. He kept all her letters in the box that was meant for newspapers. He started to keep all the photos of him and her in there too. He even put the valentine from his sixth year in it too. The box soon turned into a box for Harry and Ginny keepsakes. Harry kept the box in the wardrobe of the study, next to it was his Hogwarts trunk that had been left open. He then turned to the box of fan mail that Robinson gave him. Every day Robinson gave him a sack of it with a mischievous grin on his face. Then the idea came to him. He'd let Ginny read them with him and they'd make fun of the girls together. Then an owl came scratching at the study's window.

_Dear Harry,_

_ Hermione keeps pressuring me to talk about my sixth year at Hogwarts. I plan to tell you soon. I plan on telling my family at Christmas with you by my side. Don't tell them these plans because I don't want them getting all worried. But I promised you that I'd tell you when I'm ready. I might be or I might not but if it gets Hermione off my arse then I'll go ahead and do so. What do you think about it? I'm afraid, which is weird because I'm Ginny Bloody Weasley and I'm the bravest one of my family. Hermione has riddled out a few stories by Neville, Hannah, Luna and Seamus, and she said I'm braver than you. I don't believe her, of course. I believe I'm a lot stupider and clueless then you. I think I make stupid decisions when an opportunity rises. I think that I could have been a lot smarter by following my mum's orders and keeping my head down. But here I am, a stupid girl with memories she'd do anything to change. If I could change the past I wouldn't but I'd change the fact that I'm haunted every night by the feeling I felt last year. The only days I'm not haunted is when I'm with you. The night we fell asleep on the couch together in each other's arms was the night I had the best dream of my life. Yes, it was about us but I'm not going to tell you because it's too embarrassing. The days I spent with you during the summer were filled with love and happiness. Whenever I walk down the corridors alone here, I'm haunted with memories. I know that the castle was rebuilt and it's not the same, but the memories are still here. The memories of being tormented and beaten. The memories of writing on the desks and walls. The memories of talking back to the Carrows. All of it, comes back and scares me. Everyday I was afraid of seeing an article about how Voldemort found you and killed you. Or someone found your corpse. Is it strange that those are still my worries? I still worry that you would get extremely hurt on the job or that you would find another girl that's better than the foolish, dumb, stupid, miserable bitch I am. I'm sorry for the depressing letter._

_ Ginny_

Harry saw tear stains on the parchment. Something must have really been bothering Ginny for her to write such terrible things about herself. The farther he got into the letter the more depressed he felt.

_Dear Ginny,_

_ I think that if you feel ready to talk about it with us then you should. But don't feel pressured to do it. It's okay to be afraid, everyone does. I was afraid when I heard about you stealing the sword and getting caught. I do think you're braver than me. I would cower down if I was at Hogwarts. And Ginny, you are not stupid. You are one of the cleverest girls I know. If I knew you were being haunted so badly I would have done something about it. I wish I knew, but that's not your fault. I know how it feels to be haunted. I've been haunted every night since I was fourteen. If you ever need someone to talk to come to me. I know you know this because I'm your boyfriend and that's what every girl should do. But just to make it clear, I won't keep any secrets from you if you don't. It's not strange to have those worries. I know that it's tough dating an auror and a man who likes to look for trouble, but just remember, I'll never leave you without a proper goodbye. And no Ginny, I would never leave you. You are the love of my life. And you always will be. I am in love with you Ginny Weasley. I wish your last name was Potter instead. That's how much I love you. You are not foolish or dumb or stupid or miserable or a bitch. You are a clever, smart, brilliant, loving , beautiful, amazing, out going, carefree, genuine, classy, funny, sarcastic human being, who I can't get enough of. Gin, you mean the world to me and I never want to see you, or read you, so sad. It breaks my heart to see you cry, to see you weak, to see tear stains on a letter. Yes I can see those. Hang in there, Christmas is coming soon, and there is only two and a half more weeks to get through until I see you again. I love you, Ginny. I can't put it more plain and simple than that._

_ Love,_

_ Harry James Potter_

_ Rookie Auror_

Harry attached the letter to the owl's leg. He remembered that he still needed to name her because ever since he bought her she has been known as the owl and that wasn't too pleasant. He'd wait until Ginny came back. He would rather her name it because she's better at names than he is.

Truth be told, Harry was nervous and worried about Ginny. Something must have really hit her for her to break like that. And he was almost sure that it wasn't Hermione. He was completely sure it must have been something else. He spent the night tossing and turning under the covers because he was filled with such worry. Hopefully Ginny wasn't spiraling down in a depression like he did. She was stronger than him and so much more. There was no way that she'd make the same mistakes as him. Would she?

Ever since she got Harry's letter, Ginny could stop feeling emotional. They were so open with each other it was unbelievable. She never imagined that she'd be letting him know of all the things she had told him. She never meant to make him worry about her. She could tell by his handwriting that he was writing fast and trying to make sure she understood how much he loved her. It had been exactly a week since she last saw him face to face. The longest week in history. The most emotional week in history. And Ginny Weasley couldn't believe that it even happened. Now all she wanted to do was see Harry. She didn't think that she'd make it until next Hogsmeade weekend. She just wanted to see him so badly. But she knew that if she left Hogwarts again, her parents would have kittens. She might even fail her seventh year at Hogwarts. All she wanted was Harry to be there, holding her in his arms and not letting go. But she needed to finish off the next two weeks right. She needed to focus her mind and maybe the weeks would just fly by.

Harry woke up with a smile on his face. The three weeks had passed and today was Hogsmeade weekend. He was able to go see the love of his life and enjoy his day off.

"Harry, I hate telling you this, but can Hermione and I have the day to ourselves. I mean, like just us two. You and Ginny could hang out by yourselves. It's just I haven't had a good date with her since Ginny left to help you and it wasn't that enjoyable because all we could do was think of you."

"It's perfectly fine, mate." Harry and Ron were having the conversation while walking into the Three Broomsticks. There they were, sitting at the same table as always. Ginny Weasley and Hermione Granger. The girls who stole these boy's hearts.

"Hello ladies." Ron said before kissing his girlfriend and hugging his sister.

"How's your day been?" Harry asked after kissing his girlfriend and hugging his sister.

"Good." The girls said in unison.

"Okay well, Harry and I talked about it and we decided that we were going to hang out separately today. You know we haven't actually had a full on date together since summer. And I'm dying to have one." Ron said to Hermione. Hermione completely agreed. And not to mention Ginny who was over the moon in love with the idea.

"Alright, well we'll see you two later." Ginny said after finishing off her butter beer and grabbing Harry by the arm and practically sprinting out of the bar. The only thing she dreamed of was being alone with Harry.

"Wow, Ginny, you seemed like you really wanted to get out of there." Harry said laughing.

"Well nothing against them, just I wanted alone time with you too." Ginny said taking Harry up the street.

"Ginny, where are we going?"

"To our tree. You haven't been there in two years and I haven't been there for about three days. It's time we go and visit it." Harry laughed at Ginny's observation. It had only been three days since she visited the tree and she seemed like she was desperate to go back to it. The couple walked over to the tree after begging Filch to let them go to it. When he finally agreed that no harm could be done, they sped walked toward it.

"I missed this place." Harry said sitting down on the ground.

"I missed it the most when I was here without you." Ginny said sitting next to him. She looked into his eyes and smiled bigger. "So, did you remember that valentine off the top of your head or do you actually still have it?" Harry's smile grew larger.

"Ginny, this is where dating a complete slob and unorganized prat comes in handy. That valentine was stashed in my Hogwarts trunk the day I got it and I never emptied the bloody thing out. Something about your letter reminded me of it. I think it was because you said that couldn't believe I was yours and when you described my eyes and hair."

"Actually, I never intended on requiting that bloody letter. I guess I just did. Its how I feel. But when I read your letter back to me. I cried…a lot. I don't know why. I think it was happy tears or tears of amazement that you actually had it still."

"Of course I would have it still. It was made by the girl of my dreams." Ginny bit her lip and Harry knew what that meant. He leaned in only a slight bit until Ginny smashed her lips against his. The kiss felt like it lasted days, months, even years maybe. But it only lasted around five minutes. They only pulled away once or twice to breathe but then quickly resumed. Ginny's hands were intertwined with his and her forehead was against his at the end. They both were staring at their hands. "Your hands fit perfectly in mine." Harry said with a small chuckle in his voice.

"Like we were made for each other." Harry pecked her again on the lips.

"It's not _like _we were made for each other. We _are _made for each other." _Oh that does it. Waterworks coming back! _Ginny thought as a sparkling tear ran down her cheek. Harry took his thumb and slowly wiped it away.

"Harry, do you mean that? Or did you just see that in a magazine and thought it was clever to say?"

"No, I mean it. Unless my hearts a magazine."


	30. Chapter 30

"So, Gin, What's been going on?" Harry asked hesitantly because he didn't want Ginny to explode yet he wanted to know why she sent him such a depressing letter.

"Oh, you know, the usual; Hermione bugging me to study with her, boys not taking a hint when I tell them that their untidy arses." Harry snorted.

"I wish I could change that last part…" Harry said looking out on the Black Lake.

"Yeah me too, but why do you ask?" Harry now turned to look in Ginny's eyes.

"Your letter's worried me. I mean, I don't think that Hermione pressuring you to talk could set you off like that." Ginny snorted at Harry's thought.

"Do you want to know the real reason why I sent you that letter?"

"That would be something nice to know."

"Well, you know Romilda Vane, right? The obsessive girl in my year," Harry nodded, "Well I went into Potions class the other day…"

* * *

_"Oh, hey Ginny." Romilda said in an unpleasant voice._

_ "What's wrong with you today?" Ginny asked back with the same attitude._

_ "Oh, I may have just come up with a stronger potion and a better plan."_

_ "What plan is it better than? What potion are you trying to out do? Why would you just tell me something like that?" Then it hit Ginny. The last time she saw Romilda Vane obsessing over a potion and a plan was back in her fifth year. Romilda was trying to slip Harry some love potion, so he could like her. But it didn't go well enough because it was Ron who took it, not Harry. "Is this plan about Harry?" Ginny asked apprehensively._

_ "It's none of your business Weasley. Potter doesn't love you. And it's not like you love him. You absolutely use him. I'm sure you have about thirty things that you haven't told him about that would ruin how he sees you. You two won't last as long as he'd last with me." Romilda now had a cocky grin on her face like she just won the world cup._

_ "Oh really, admit it Romilda. You only want Harry in bed with you. You only want him because of his looks or money. Well that's why he'll never love you, because he hates when people see him like that. And you know what Romilda, when you mess with my life, my happiness, and especially my boyfriend, you'd be messing with me."_

_ "You don't scare me Ginny Weasley. You never have and never will."_

_ "I'm not trying to scare you. Anyways after what happened with my brother, Harry Potter never saw you as anything more than a great sack of loonies."_

_ "You'd know all about loony, since you hang out with that Loony Lovegood."_

_ "You fucking bitch! Luna Lovegood isn't loony at all. She is one of the most brilliant girls I've ever known. I don't want to hear you saying anything bad about my friends or you'll learn what a proper bat-bogey hex feels like."_

_ "We'll see how much you'll want to bat-bogey hex me when you're known as The-One-Who-Broke-The-Chosen-One's-Heart and I'm known as The-Savior-Of-The-Savior-Of-The-Wizarding-World's-Heart." And Romilda left._

* * *

Harry stared at his girlfriend. He couldn't be more surprised yet proud of her. She stood up, again, for what she believed was right.

"So you were afraid that I was going to leave you for her, weren't you?" Ginny nodded, "Gin, I'll never leave you for that whiny priss."

"No, Harry, I know you wouldn't. But I don't think she just meant that she would do a little flattering and you'd be hers. I think she has a plot to, I don't know; make it look like I did something wrong so she'll take advantage of you! Even if we don't end up like I want us to, I don't want anyone taking advantage of you."

"That shows how much of a great girlfriend you are! You will stick up for me even if we end up with other people. But I'm sorry Ginny, I don't think I'll ever leave you. Even if you don't want to be my girlfriend, you'll be stuck with me having a little school boy crush. But don't worry, it's not that bad, I had to deal with a girl who liked me a lot for about six years." Ginny laughed at Harry's comment.

"Oh I know how it feels, I had this very clumsy boy like me from the end of my fourth year into my fifth. But let me tell you, after he kissed me in front of the common room, I think I started to actually like him." Harry raised his eyebrows at her.

"You mean, you noticed how excellent a kisser he was. You liked him since you were five."

"I don't know if he's good or not. Maybe he should kiss me right now so I can make my decision." Ginny said with a huge smile on her face. Harry then leaned in and kissed her hard. Only parting when a rock hit the tree they were leaning against.

"What the…"

"Oi, mate, when you stop snogging my little sister, we need to walk them back to the castle." Ginny gave him an apologetic look before running after her older brother.

"Ronald, if you don't like what you see maybe you should turn away."

"Wait…you two weren't going to…." Ron asked pointing to the ground, then his face paled.

"NO RON! When Harry and I do that, we'll be in a proper bedroom." Ron's ears turned bright red.

"I swear if you two already have then…" Harry shook his head rapidly.

"No we haven't Ron." Ron's face seemed to turn back into its proper color.

"Well, um, Hermione is waiting for us….so…um….I'll just go." Ron practically ran away from the two.

"Is it your life ambition to make your brother feel uncomfortable and make my life closer to ending?"

"How is making my brother uncomfortable relate to you dying earlier."

"Maybe that your brother will kill me once I'm off of school grounds." Ginny's face dropped because of what Harry said. He wasn't going to be here for very much longer and it was killing her. "What's wrong, Gin?"

"What? Oh, nothing…" Ginny went back into her daze of sadness.

"No, Gin, something's up. Why do you seem down?"

"Harry, I'm fine." Now Ginny's voice became noticeably sterner.

"Gin, stop playing around, I know that something is bugging with you. So, it's either admitting it, or letting me go all auror on your arse." Ginny giggled for a moment. "And no; not like that, you sick minded person." Ginny's giggles subsided to just a small grin.

"It's just that, in about an hour I'll be back in the Gryffindor Common Room and you'll be at your flat and we'll be separated again. I don't want you to go. School without you is too hard to go through." Harry snorted.

"Ginny, I think I brought more danger to this place than I solved. I think life without me must be easier for you. Anyway, that's how our relationship stays strong. When we're apart all we do is think about each other, then when we finally see each other we have the best days in our lives. Therefore we look forward to each and every one. Does that make sense?"

"It does, but I still hate it. I wish you came to all the pointless lessons with me. I wish you were here to fight Romilda Vane with me." Harry giggled at Ginny's logic.

"Soon enough we'll be together for a long time. You just have to make it through. Think about it, in about a month you'll be on Christmas holiday, then you will only have about a half of a year to get through, then we'll be together for the rest of our lives." Ginny looked up into his eyes with as much hope as possible.

"Do you really mean that?" Harry tilted her head up so he could see her delicate features perfectly.

"I do. And if you don't believe me, just remember I'm not the type of person to flaunt my feelings." Ginny pulled Harry's head down for one last perfect kiss.

"I love you, Harry. I don't think I'll make it if you didn't love me back. But I'm perfectly healthy, so, I think that means that you do." Harry's smile grew larger.

"Again, Ginny Weasley is completely on target. I don't think that Voldemort would be dead if I wasn't in love with you. But he is, so that proves my point." Ginny gave him a bright smile then grabbed his hand.

"Come on, we'd better go before my git brother thinks you took me away." Harry raised his eye brows with terror at the thought of her brothers chasing him. "No need to be afraid, Harry. They wouldn't live that long if they hurt you."

* * *

It was the first day of December and Ginny was very fidgety. In about one week, her and her best friend would be on the train to go home for Christmas. She couldn't focus on her History of Magic homework and she definitely couldn't listen to Hermione tell her about Ancient Runes, the class Ginny didn't take this year because it was too much of a hassle.

"Ginny, are you listening?" Hermione's voice cut through her thought like a saw going through pillow.

"What? Oh yeah, something about Herbology?"

"No, I was telling you that Pansy Parkinson said she's going to beat you at Quidditch in a day. You've been a little out of it for the past few days. What's going on?"

"I'm having trouble focusing on anything anymore." Neville seemed to perk up like he knew what was going on.

"Have you been sleeping okay?" Hermione must have taken too long to answer because Ginny was already back in her own world. "GINNY!"

"What? Oh, sleep, yeah already did the homework for it." Ginny stood up from the couch and left the common room through the portrait hole.

"This can't be happening." Neville muttered under his breath.

"What? Has this happened before?" Hermione interrogated answers out of Neville.

"Yeah, she was the exact same last year. She never slept and she always said nonsense things like that. She almost always seemed like she was in her own world. It started after Christmas though. I think it was from long term torture. You don't think that she's…" Neville trailed off. He didn't want to think that one of his best friends was torturing them self.

"No, I don't think she's even close to thinking like that again. She's been off since Hogsmeade weekend. I wonder if it has something to do with Harry. I mean nothing bad, I think she's missing him a lot."

"That's weird though. He's not that long away like he was last year. She can always owl him." Hermione shook her head.

"No, Neville, I think that going to school without him bugs her."

"She went to school without him last year and was perfectly fine."

"But Neville, she had stuff to preoccupy her mind. Running the D.A., the Carrows, her family in hiding, and getting crucioed, probably kept her mind off of it. I think that homework doesn't have the same effect. She's probably going through that fast all couples go through."

"Which is?" Neville was never one to know about that whole romantic thing.

"They can't do anything without each other. They need the other person by their side or they become practically a mental patient. Ginny must be an insomniac while going through it."

"I'm going to act like I know what that word means then move on with my day."

"It means she doesn't get any sleep." Neville nodded his head in understanding. "Let's hope this week flies by fast so she can get back to her normal state."

* * *

Ginny walked as fast as she could out of the common room. She knew she just said the most stupid thing she could have said in front of Hermione. The truth was that she couldn't stop thinking of Harry. She knew he meant what he said and that he'd never do such a thing to hurt her. But she also knew Romilda Vane meant what she said and that she'd do _everything _to hurt her. But Romilda couldn't do anything right now because she was at school with Ginny and no where near Harry. Plus Harry might be on the lookout now that Ginny warned him. But still why would she tell Ginny that she had a plan to steal her boyfriend?

* * *

"Ms. Weasley!" Professor Slughorn almost yelled at the poor girl who had her head on her desk and was subtly snoring. Ginny jolted up with her eyes wide. _Did I fall asleep in class again? _Ginny asked herself quietly. "Can you please answer the question?"

"Sure, Professor…um…er…Can you just repeat it?" Professor Slughorn's mouth curled into a small smirk.

"I asked if you could tell me what you smell when you sniff the love potion."

"Oh sorry, Professor," Ginny stepped up to the cauldron and sniffed twice, "Well, I smell grass of the Quidditch Pitch, the polish of broomsticks, and lemon shampoo."

"And do you know anyone who smells like that?" Ginny's thoughts reverted back to a certain black haired, green eyed boy. She nodded and sat back down.

"Ginny, meet me after class." Hermione whispered to her friend. Ginny had no idea what Hermione wanted to tell her but she knew that it would be either something that would lift her spirits or something that would be a complete waste of time.

* * *

"So, what is this all about Hermione?" Ginny asked after the class got dismissed.

"Ginny, is the reason you are acting strange is because of the love potion?"

"What about the love potion?"

"Well, don't take this the wrong way, but the love potion is supposed to smell like the person you love. You said that you knew someone who smelled like grass, broomsticks and lemon shampoo. Is that person someone who you don't love?"

"Can you clarify?"

"Is that person someone who you're not dating?"

"Hermione, I know only one person who smells like that, he smells like the Quidditch Pitch because he used to always play there, he smells like the polish of broomsticks because he was always stuck doing them after games, and he smells like lemon shampoo because that's the only brand he'll buy. Does any of those clues lead up to someone?" Hermione thought for a moment, _always plays Quidditch, stuck polishing broomsticks after games, and uses lemon shampoo. AH-HA! _

"HARRY!" Ginny nodded her head like it was obvious. "Well, if it's Harry, and that's what you want to hear, then why have you been acting so strange?"

"It's because he's all I think about these days. I can't sleep because I stay up all night wondering what he's doing at the moment. I can't pay attention in class because I remember him complaining about how pointless some of the lessons were. I can't play Quidditch right because he's not my captain anymore. Don't you see, he's miles away and he's being a complete distraction! Why the hell do I always think of him?"

"Well you are dating him."

"Way to be obvious, Hermione. I also dated him when I was fifteen and he never was a distraction from sleep, or class, or Quidditch or anything! Well, except maybe homework."

"Ginny, didn't you learn anything in that last potions lesson?"

"I was asleep for almost the entire class."

"Well, Slughorn said that the love potion can clear up who you really have feelings for. TRUE feelings. As in LOVE! You smelt Harry. Put two and two together."

"That means I'm completely in love with him?" Hermione nodded with a huge smile on her face. Ginny couldn't help but smile too. "So what's got you all happy?"

"Let's just say that the love potion had a particular familiar scent to it."

"Would that familiar scent be a specific blue eyed ginger?"

"Maybe." Hermione said looking in the distance.

"A certain blue eyed ginger known as one Ronald Weasley?" Hermione looked at Ginny with complete happiness. "I knew it! You two are in total goo-goo-ga-ga love!"

"SSH, Ginny, I don't want everyone to know! Anyway, you missed Romilda Vane go up before you."

"Oh really, by any chance do you know what she smelled?"

"Yes and you'll be quite pleased. She smelt daffodils, watermelons and freshly cleaned carpet."

"So, she had to face the bloody truth that she isn't in love with Harry?"

"Yes she did, and I think that she's going after another boy."

"Who?"

"Apparently, she met a muggle boy a couple of summers ago, said that he was sweet and gentile. And that she remembered exactly what he smelt like when he gave her a hug."

"Carpet, daffodils, and watermelons." Hermione nodded, "He sounds a little on the…um…fruity side."

"Thank Merlin; I'm not the only one who thinks so."

"So do you think that she'll stop gawking at Harry?"

"I think so." Great, that's all that Ginny wanted to hear.

**A/N: Just a few more chapters and then I'll close off this story from my series. I renamed what the next part will be called, it will be called As Time Flies By, and it will be about their lives out of Hogwarts to probably getting engaged. Do you think that that's a good time frame? I need to bring Teddy back into this story, we haven't seen him in it in a while, maybe at Christams. That's all the spoilers I'm going to spill. Anyway I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Next one is coming soon! :D**


	31. Chapter 31

The Hogsmeade Train Station was filled with smoke and students. It was the day Ginny had been waiting for. It was the day they would return home for two weeks. Two weeks that she'd get to spend with Harry. She was the first one on the train along with Hermione, Luna, Neville, and Hannah.

"I can't wait to finally go home! Rolf told me that he found another species; he said they're like Narghals but have qualities of Wrackspurts. We both agree that maybe a Narghal and Wrackspurt mated." Luna said in her dreamy voice. Neville and Hannah had been quiet all morning and Ginny thought she knew why.

"So, are you two a thing now?" Neville paled and so did Hannah.

"What are you talking about?" Neville asked quietly.

"Well, all year you two have been blushing at each other, staring at one another and having long, long, long conversations. Have you two finally realized that you should try and go out sometime?" Neville glanced at Hannah who was turning bright red.

"Um, yes we've thought about it. And we might be…" Hannah said trailing off.

"How can you might be? It's either your dating or your not. Pick one." Ginny now was getting full on frustrated that her friends were circling the drain.

"Okay, we are. We have been for a while now we just never told anyone." Hannah finally burst. Neville finally smiled for the first time that week.

"Perfect! And Luna are you and Rolf a thing too?"

"Yes, we've been a thing since summer. Unlike some, I don't go flaunting my opinions or feelings." Hermione snorted. "What?"

"Oh nothing, Luna. I'm just happy that everyone here finally found the right person. Now its Christmas and we can spend it with the people we love!" Neville and Hannah intertwined their hands while Luna picked up a copy of the Quibbler. And Hermione took out _Hogwarts a History: Year Seven. _Ginny sat there in silence at first because she had no clue what to do. She was definitely not going to read. That's what schools for and their on break now. Instead, Ginny took out the letters she got from Harry a while back. She couldn't believe how much longer they got once she got further into the year. There were ones where they were completely uplifting like the one about the valentine and there were ones that broke her heart like the one about him being sent off on an auror mission. But they were all from him and that's all that mattered.

* * *

Finally they were there. At Kings Cross Station. In about minutes, Ginny would be face to face with the man she loves. Face to face with the heart melting green eyed and beautiful black haired man whom she loved. Hermione and Ginny got off the train and grabbed their trunks.

"I can help you with that." A man's voice said from behind Ginny. But Ginny was in such a rush she didn't have time to comprehend the voice.

"No I think I have it, but thank you sir…" Ginny turned around and saw the sight she was about to go searching for. Harry Potter. She quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him. She took in the polish of the broomsticks, the grass on the Quidditch Pitch and the lemon shampoo scent that she had been longing for, for about four weeks. "Oh my goodness, I'm sorry I didn't mean to be so rude to you….Wait a minute," Ginny let go and looked at her boyfriend, "Yes sir, you can help me with my trunk!" Harry laughed.

"Well, your mum sent Ron and I to come and pick you girls up and bring you back to the Burrow. Ron didn't want to come, believe it or not. I don't think that it has anything to do with Hermione more that he thinks he can steal some food when your mum has her back turned." Ginny laughed at Harry's though. He really knew the way the Weasleys think.

"Well, where's Ron, wait, where's Hermione?" Harry took Ginny by the shoulders and spun her around to see her best friend and her brother snogging like mad. "Okay, never mind. How about let's go before that turns into something else in the middle of a train station." Harry's face paled at the thought of his two best friends doing _that _in the middle of a crowd of people…actually the thought of them doing _that _at all just made him feel nauseous.

"Oi! You two, we're going home now. So either come with us or find a place to apparate on your own!" The couple parted with glares being shot at Harry and Ginny.

* * *

The Burrow still had the same home feeling when Ginny walked in it for the first time in months. It looked as if nothing had changed. The coat rack still had old coats hanging on it that no one ever used. The door mat was still there with the dirty foot print imbedded on it. And it still had the same smell of delicious meals and apple spice that Ginny always loved. The four walked into the living room where her father was on his rocking chair with an issue of the Daily Prophet in his hands, his brothers George and Percy were playing wizards chess on the coffee table while Bill and Fleur sat snuggled together watching the fire.

"Hello, everyone." Ginny said quietly but loud enough that they could hear her. But no one responded back. "Hi?" Ginny said a bit louder again no one responded. "What the bloody hell is going on here?"

"GINNY LANGUAGE!" Molly yelled from the kitchen. Ginny walked into the kitchen to greet her mother.

"Hey, Mum." Her mum looked up from the frying pan and ran over to her daughter, grabbing her into one of her infamous Molly Weasley hugs.

"Ginny, dear, I've missed you so much. You never wrote to me! Only to Harry and Ron. Which I'll have to talk to you about later." Molly said pointing her finger up at Ginny.

"What are you talking about, Mum? I mean I know I never wrote you but what's wrong with me writing to Harry?"

"Just something that Charlie and George find amusing that humiliates you and Hermione as well." Ginny only knew where this was heading. George and Charlie must have read it out loud to the family. Curse them. "But it's nice to have you back!"

"If it's nice to have me back then why is Dad, George, Percy, Bill and Fleur ignoring me?"

"They think they all can play a practical joke on you two or something. I for one will not be apart of such silly games." But Molly was cut off from George's voice being heard from the living room.

"MUM YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO TELL HER! NOW YOU'VE RUINED THE PRANK!"

"GEORGE, THIS IS NO TIME FOR YOUR SILLY PRANKS. YOU'LL HAVE ENOUGH TIME DURING THESE TWO WEEKS BUT FOR RIGHT NOW JUST COME OFF IT!" Molly yelled back to her son. Soon the group of men and Fleur came into the kitchen to properly greet Ginny.

"I dident' vant to plaee azong boot Beel, made me. I am verzy zorry."

"Don't worry about it, Fleur. After living with them for about seventeen years, I've gotten used to it."

"So, Gin, how has it been these last few months? Have you missed me? Dad? Mum? Harry? Or Harry's lips?" George asked with a mischievous grin planted on his face.

"Bugger off, George. Anyway I've seen Harry's lips in the past few months so I haven't been missing them all that much." George paled but all you could hear was Percy and Ron in the background saying things like 'oooh burn' or 'are you going to put ice on that burn George?'

"Gin, can you leave me out of this, please?" Harry asked pleadingly.

"Wait a minute, where's Charlie?" Ginny asked the room filled with people.

"He went to Gringotts to get paper work on all of our balances." Percy responded.

"Why?"

"An anonymous wizard or witch donated a lot of galleons to each of us. You included. We're still trying to figure it out but we believe it was Harry. But none of us can crack down on how he did it." Bill said glancing at the man in question.

"I never said I did it and I never said I didn't. I said until you have full proof, anonymous donor will stay anonymous." Harry said shortly.

"I think I have an idea on how he did it." Ginny said smiling largely. Harry paled; he was in for it now. "I think he met with Kingsley after the battle to discuss his financial records and what not. I think out of the goodness of his hearts he donated the money to each of us. Then asked Kingsley for it to be an anonymous donation. Though the money probably didn't put a single dent into his savings." Everyone turned back to Harry to see if it was true. Harry just nodded.

"What? How did you get it right on the first try?" Bill asked accusingly of his younger sister.

"Because I was there when he did it. He brought me with him to the meeting and donated the money in front of me."

"But that's cheating! I say she's disqualified from the bet." Ron said pointing accusingly at his sister.

"Oh, well you already have the word for word answer. Now no one wins, I think I should be the taker of the galleons. Thank you very much."

"I'm not giving my money to that little witch!" George chipped in.

"Okay, state the rules of the bet." Ginny said with a smirk on her lips.

"That you have to guess the right scenario of how Harry donated the money to us." Bill said in monotone.

"And did I do so? Because ask Harry, I was right on target!" The men in the room looked around, then took out their galleons and handed them to Ginny. "I thought so." Ginny said before carrying her trunk up to her room.

"Harry, your bloody psycho to be dating her!" Ron said patting his best friend on the back.

"HARRY JAMES POTTER! I ABSOLUTELY REVOLT AGAINST TAKING MONEY FROM YOU! THAT IS YOUR MONEY YOUNG MAN AND I WILL NOT TAKE IT! I DON'T KNOW HOW BUT PLEASE PUT IT BACK INTO YOUR ACCOUNT!" Molly shouted at Harry.

"Mrs. Weasley, I swear it didn't do anything. I was going to give you more but then I thought that you lot were already going to scream at me for this amount why give you guys more? But, seriously I needed to get rid of that money….I still need to get rid of more so I can start buying groceries for everyone…for the next ten years! How does that sound, eh?"

"No, Harry. We don't want to take money from you because that's your money. We don't deserve money from you because we've done nothing to earn it." Arthur said firmly.

"Mr. Weasley, you took me in as your own since I was twelve, you all put your head on the chopping block for me time and time again. I don't need that stupid money. I didn't even need the money my parent's left me. Then I got all this money from Sirius and Remus and The Lestranges and ….Voldemort." Harry shivered at the thought of the money that was used to be in his possession.

"Can you tell us how much you have so it won't make us feel bad, please?" George asked quietly.

"It's somewhere around 996,000,000,000,000 galleons. WAY too much for me. Do you know anyone who needs money?"

"Harry, I guess we're going to lose this battle aren't we?" Arthur said looking down at his feet guiltily. Harry nodded. "Well, I guess we'll keep the money even if it does feel wrong."

"Thanks Harry." George, Percy and Bill said in unison.

"Mate, can I talk to you for a minute?" Ron asked before walking into the foyer.

"What's wrong, mate?" Harry was worried what Ron was going to tell him.

"Well, I don't think I need that money. I mean, I got called in for a meeting with Kingsley and he told me about my financial estate. He told me that the Wizarding World wanted to recognize me and that they donated money to me. They didn't donate to you because Kingsley said they donated the money after your meeting and you didn't want anymore money."

"He got that right. But Ron I wanted to give you that money because you came with me."

"I know mate, but Hermione and I got a lot of galleons, neither of us need that money. How about you give it to my family? I mean I'm trying to get rid of my money too. I gave some to them too, but it was after you gave it to us so I didn't donate any back to you. I'm sorry that's bias of me isn't it?"

"No, I don't want any money. I'm not offended at all. But just out of curiosity how much did they reward you with?"

"Both, Hermione and I received a deposit of around 300,000,000,000. All from death eaters vaults. They lost everything when they were proven guilty. It feels dirty having this money. I used to dream of being rich but now I don't really like it."

"I know what you mean, mate."

"Okay, so are you going to redirect the deposit?"

"Well, mate, as of right now it's your money so you have to make a whole new deposit. Not me." Ron clapped his hand on his head and mutters some offensive terms to himself. "How about let's get back to everyone. Ginny is probably about to bat-bogey hex you because she thinks your going to give me some kind of brother talk."

"I can only imagine what that means."

* * *

"Harry, let's go out in the field." Ginny whispered in Harry's ear after dinner. Bill and Fleur had gone home, George and Percy returned to their flats and Ron and Hermione were busy in a game of wizards' chess. Not to mention her parents who were in a deep conversation with Charlie about the ministry. The couple took a blanket with them and walked into the dark night that was lit by the moon.

"So, why'd you want to come out here?" Harry asked hesitantly.

"I dunno. I think I just wanted to talk to you in private and without family distractions." They walked to the end of the field that was lit the most by the moon. "Let's set up, here." Harry lied the blanket down on the grass. Ginny plopped down with no care about how it made her look.

"Why do you seem so down?"

"Nothing…" Ginny looked up at the North Star that shined bright.

"Ginny, don't act like nothing is wrong. If there's anything I've learned about girls in my six months of being on the run with one, is that 'nothing' means something."

"It's my first Christmas without him. It's too hard for me to handle. Mum already had made him a Christmas sweater back in April and he's not here to get it. Everyone is trying to keep their mind off of him with other subjects but they can't. I can't." Ginny's voice started to crack as tears started to glisten down her cheeks. "I don't know what to think. He died too young. He always talked about raising a family and teaching them the pranks that he and George always pulled but he can't act on that dream because it was taken away. Why did he fight? Why couldn't he have just stayed home with me? It's my entire fault. He told Mum that if I stayed he'd stay with me but I insisted on coming. I'm the reason he's gone." Harry wrapped an arm around her and let her lay her head on his shoulder. "I wish I never fought but if I hadn't, many more death eaters would still be on the loose. It's like I had to choose between my brother and my world."

"Ginny, a wise girl once told me that you can't change what happen. No one blames you and it is most definitely not your fault. Gin, you did what you thought was right. I do that too and sometimes things don't pan out how we plan. And the ones that we love never really leave us. We'll see them again, plus Fred is in a better place, trust me, I know this."

"How do you know that for sure?"

"I've seen it. It's a nice place really. I just didn't go because of one specific reason."

"And what was that?"

"Well I didn't want you to deal with Voldemort on your own. I knew how to take him down but I wasn't sure if anyone else knew. So I stayed. Then when I heard you scream when I was carried out from the forest, I knew I didn't just stay for that reason. I stayed so I knew for sure that you wouldn't get hurt…or get with someone else." Harry's voice trailed off. How could he be so selfish? Here his girlfriend was, crying her heart out and he was sitting there talking about himself.

"I love you, Harry." Ginny said into his shoulder. Maybe he did do something right.

"I love you too, Ginny." Harry kissed her hair and pulled her closer.

"Do you think he knew…about us?" Ginny asked quietly.

"He did. I remember him asking me how good of a kisser you were last summer."

"What did you say?" Ginny said looking up into Harry's eyes.

"What do you think I said?"

"I think you did what you do when I come up in conversation with my brothers. I think you stayed silent and cowered down to him."

"Well, you're absolutely correct. I stayed silent and he laughed at me. It was quite embarrassing."

"You deserved to be laughed at." Harry snorted.

"Yeah, I deserve a lot of things and I don't deserve even more." Ginny was taken back by Harry's voice. Did he seem mad?

"What don't you deserve?"

"A life, happiness, you. I deserve to be tortured, hated, and uncared for."

"I don't understand how you can think like that. I mean, you've always thought like that since I can remember, I just don't get it. Wait a minute; they say people act like that if they have a rough childhood. As much as I believe your childhood was rough with your parents not being there but, the Dursleys took care of you…didn't they?"

"On certain circumstances…I guess they might have."

"Harry, it's either they did or they didn't."

"It's not that big of a deal." Harry seemed a bit short on the topic.

"Harry, you just said that when a girl says 'nothing' it means something."

"Well, I'm not a girl and I didn't say 'nothing'."

"Well you're as close to a girl as they come and technically you almost said it was nothing."

"Oi, I'm not even close to a girl."

"Yeah, yeah, so what did the Dursleys do?"

"They didn't do anything." Harry said raising his voice a little and bending the truth.

"Wait, they didn't do anything to you or they didn't do anything at all?"

"More of the second one."

"Harry, you're going to tell me about it now. I don't care if you don't want to, but I'm sharing my story tomorrow when the family comes back. And you're not telling your story to the whole bloody family so either tell me now or prepared to be hexed."

"Fine, I was an abused child, okay? Happy now?"

"Not at all. Now what do you mean abused? Did they hit you? Starve you? Exclude you?" Harry just nodded his head. "Which one?"

"All of them. They hit me when I didn't listen, they starved me when I made mistakes, and I was always excluded from a 'family' dinner."

"Why would they do that?"

"I wasn't technically family. If my parents never died, I wouldn't know who they were because my mother was completely shunned away once she was found out to be a witch. Uncle Vernon didn't believe in nonsense, such as dreams, or magic, or not neglecting an orphan child."

"That's nonsense? Nonsense is saying anything is impossible. Magic, dreams, a happy Harry Potter makes more sense than anything else on this bitter world."

"Not in the Dursleys home. I once brought up a dream I had of being held by a redheaded woman then seeing bright flashing lights, and then later seeing a flying motorcycle and I wasn't fed for a month."

"How did you survive with no food for a month?"

"Easy, I waited until they were asleep then I snuck into the kitchen and stole some snacks."

"And they never heard you come down the stairs?"

"I didn't have to go down stairs. My area wasn't upstairs."

"Area?"

"I didn't have a room, Gin."

"Then where did you sleep?" Harry paused for a moment then looked down at his shoes. He didn't want to answer that.

"Under the stairs…"

"UNDER THE STAIRS? YOU MEAN LIKE THOSE CUPBOARDS THAT ARE UNDER STAIRS? YOU MEAN THE ONES THAT NORMAL PEOPLE KEEPS OLD COATS AND JUNK?"

"Ginny, calm down. I fitted in it perfectly because I wasn't fed too much. It was perfectly fine. And it held all my clothes in it and had enough room for my small mattress. The only thing I wish I had, been a bigger blanket so that when the dust fell from the ceiling I could cover my face yet still have my feet warm."

"That's a terrible thing to wish for. That should have already been provided! When you're a kid your supposed to be wishing for toys, galleons, Santa Claus. You shouldn't have to worry about waking up with your face covered in dust."

"No, I didn't worry about my face, I remember worrying that I wouldn't reach the food in the dark. Now that was my main problem." Harry chuckled at the image of a small boy climbing up shelves to get a bag of chips.

"Harry it's not funny. How are you finding this amusing?"

"Because it's not new to me. I'm used to it. Anyways, I'm away from it now."

"Is that why you were so awkward about being here back when you were twelve?" He nodded. "Merlin's beard, Harry! Does anyone actually know about this?"

"Well Ron and Hermione know that I hated it there. I think they suspected a few things, but they don't know for sure. And I don't plan on telling anyone."

"Why wouldn't you tell anyone?"

"Because if it got leaked out into the press then there would be hundreds of wizards and witches out to get the Dursleys. They deserve a lot of things but that isn't one of them."

"Bloody hell it is. Those arses deserve even worse!" Ginny was sitting straighter and was looking directly into Harry's eyes.

"Ginny, calm down. Once I outgrew my cupboard, they moved me into a room. See? Happy ending."

"I don't believe that ended anything."

"Well, it didn't but I was happier, the end." Harry stood up and held out his hand. "Come on, it's dark and there might be death eaters on the loose. I don't feel like dueling today." Ginny reluctantly took it and started to walk with him.

"Now, who's going to explain why we left the house. I think you should since you are the gentleman in this situation."

"Oh really? Well I think that you should because you have control over your brothers and maybe you'll stop them from murdering me."

"Oh, come one, nothing happened. Not even a snog. They'll be fine."

"Ginny these are your brothers we're talking about."

"True."

* * *

"It's Christmas Eve. Times moved by so fast."

"I know."

"Harry, do you ever wonder what it'd be like in the future?"

"Sometimes…why?"

"Because, ever since we got together I always wondered what the future holds for us." Ginny looked at her boyfriend with the same hard expression as the night when he kissed her for the first time.

"I think that's for us to see. I think that thinking of now and living our lives will decide our future. I think that it's something that time will tell." Ginny nodded. She understood what he meant. But she was really hoping for him to say that his future life would consist of her.

"Do you think we'll be together for ever?" Harry's smile faded for a moment and Ginny panicked. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to put you on the spot like that, I'm so sorry. You don't have to answer that, really. I was just speaking my thoughts." Ginny's words grew faster the more she panicked. That question could ruin her relationship.

"I think we will if you want me to hang around that long. I'm in love with you and I can't help it. Not that I want to help it. Ginny, I think we would if you agree to be. But as of right now, I don't have a ring or your parent's permission, I'd rather live our lives a little bit and settle down some more before we take the next leap."

"I totally agree with you. I'm happy you feel the same as me. But when I tell you lot about last year that might all change…" Ginny looked out the window at the view her room provided her.

"Gin, nothing can change it. You're alive. You must have done something right to be so." Ginny glanced at him then stared at her Holyhead Harpies poster that was across the room.

"You know, ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to play for them. If I could, I think my life would be complete. I mean, I already have the man of my dreams since I was ten and I have the money that I never had as a child. I think if I play for them, every one of my dreams would come true…well except one but that's for a later time in my life."

"What's that?"

"Starting a family; you know, like children, in a house, with a peach tree in the front garden."

"That sounds lovely."

"It does, doesn't it? I always wanted the life my parents had, you know, they're completely in love, with a large family. They're happy and that's the kind of life I want some day."

"Same. The only thing that they have that I won't is a normal life…and a childhood."

"I'll make sure you get your childhood, Harry. Even if it costs me the most humiliation ever."

"That's very sweet, Gin, but I think I'm a little old for that."

"No, your childhood was taken away, therefore, mentally your about six years old. So you have about six years to be a child."

"Great, so I'll be twenty-four when I finally grow up."

"Pretty much." Harry pinched the bridge of his nose to hide his amused face.

* * *

"Alright, everyone, I'm going to finish telling you all my story." Ginny announced to the room filled with people. George had brought Angelina Johnson, Percy had brought some girl named Audrey, and everyone else were there. Hermione had been reading a book while watching Ron and Charlie play wizard's chess. Arthur and Molly were both talking about how the Ministry could handle all the death eaters and Harry was holding her hand to show her that she's not alone.

"Alright, I'm dying to listen." George said sarcastically. The group of people adjusted themselves so that they were in almost the same spots when she told them in the summer.

"Well, I left off at their punishments didn't I?" Everyone nodded. "Well, um, they started to find a new way to punish us traitors."

"What was that punishment?"

"The Cruciatus Curse… But that didn't stop me."

"Can you tell us when you got it? You know like a story?" Percy asked impatiently.

"Well, it was about a month into school, and Muggle Studies and Dark Arts got a little more brutal."

"You mean Defense against the Dark Arts right?" Molly asked worriedly.

"No, Mum, Dark Arts. With the world at Voldemort's feet, the defense part wasn't necessary. Anyways, a second year girl didn't do a curse properly to another student, so, Professor Carrow crucioed her. Once I heard I went straight to the Ravenclaw Common Room to make sure she was alright. But when I came she was alone and shaking. She told me that she couldn't stop vomiting and that she was too scared to sleep. So, I gave her those antidotes for insomnia that George gave me," George nodded his head, "I was pissed. I didn't want anyone else to get hurt anymore. So next class, I went in there with a full ambition of being a bitch."

"GINEVRA WEASLEY! YOU SHOULD NEVER CARRY YOURSELF LIKE THAT IF YOU ARE STANDING UP FOR SOMEONE OR NOT!" Molly stood up and yelled at her daughter.

"Mum, it's in the past you can't do anything about it," Molly sat back down with an evil glare in her eyes, "Whenever he asked us questions I'd answer with the most innocent answer possible. They hated that. I remember the first question he asked that class was if we had ever performed the Cruciatus Curse. Everyone raised their hands but me. He asked me why and I told him that I wasn't going to if he liked it or not. He obviously wasn't too happy about it and crucioed me on the spot. It lasted around two minutes and I…sort of…enjoyed the pain…" Everyone looked at her in amazement. _Did she just say she enjoyed it? _Is all anyone thought. "I mean…I don't know…maybe I hated it…but I wasn't thinking straight back then. It was the last class of the day and instead of going to dinner I went straight to the Gryffindor Common Room. I think I stared at the box of antidotes for around an hour but I threw them back into my trunk. I wanted to suffer; I didn't want the pain to die down."

"You're mad!" Charlie said with concern.

"I am, aren't I? But I don't care. Soon Cruciatus Curses were just a daily activity for me. I think my record in one day was three. I think the total for the year was in the nineties but maybe in the hundreds. I've lost count."

"YOU ARE MAD!" Bill yelled.

"And I'm not denying it and I'm not regretting it."

"I can't believe you." Ron said plainly and Percy nodded along.

"Then don't. I don't care. I'll just stop telling you all my stories."

"No, you need to tell us. We are your family." Arthur said sternly.

"Well, Luna and Neville started to become worried about me. So did Seamus, Patil and Padma, Lavender, and the Creeveys. They all gathered in the common room and ambushed me. They told me they were trying to help but it didn't. I didn't feel like I could trust them, I didn't want to go back to the common room at night, I started to eat lunch alone, and I started to become a bit more careless. Whenever Luna spoke to me or talked about something in the future, I always said 'if I live that long'. I was sure that soon, they'd kill me."

"And you never tried to contact us! Never tried to get out of there?" Bill yelled at his sister but she only glared at him.

"There was no contact going in or out of the building until Harry Potter was captured. Every night I prayed that I'd spend eternity without any contact of the outer world. People started to think that this was going to be what their life would consist of forever. I don't blame them." Molly was now weeping on her husbands shoulder and Harry was paled and looked like he was going to be sick. "I think we all had enough for Christmas Eve…who wants Treacle Tart?"

"Ginny, you can't just tell us terrible things that happened then offer sweets. Are you sure you don't need to see a psychiatrist?" George asked but now he wasn't joking; he was completely serious. That never happened unless something really upset him.

"I'm fine! Look at me," Ginny waved her hands through the air beside her, "I'm alive, healthy, here…I'm okay!" Ginny left the living room and went into the kitchen. But everyone was frozen in their spots. They had no idea what to think. Was Ginny Weasley really what she said she was? Did she really get crucioed that many times? No one wanted to know the truth. They were almost positive Ginny was keeping something away from them. "Alright, pass these around…George…PASS THEM AROUND!" Ginny said handing the tray of sweets to her brother. The tray went to everyone then back to Ginny but none were taken. "Guys, stop acting like I'm some random creature who walked just waltzed into your home. Why are you guys staring at me?"

"Why are you acting like getting tortured is apart of everyday life?" Charlie spoke in a surprising manner.

"Because after a while, it became apart of my daily routine; you get up, get dressed, eat, go to Dark Arts, get crucioed, go to Muggle Studies, get crucioed, go to lunch, finish off your day with McGonagall, Sprout, and Binns. Then get caught in the halls by Alecto Carrow and get crucioed, then go to bed with out a single antidote and suck up the pain."

_Silence…_ There was no movement, no talking, no expressions, no nothing coming from her peers. They just sat there trying to take in what she told them. But no one knew what to say. They couldn't help but be scared of what she did. She saw worse than anyone else in that entire room, even Harry and he saw death.

_Silence…_No one spoke, no one left, and no one did anything. Ginny was sure that they weren't breathing. It was like she had just stupefied them. She could go to the market and walk around the muggle world, then come back and they would still all be where she left them.

_Silence…_ She couldn't take the tension, she couldn't take the suspense, and she definitely couldn't take the anxiety of what was going through their minds. What were they going to say when they get out of their daze? Were they paralyzed by her stories? What should she do? She couldn't do anything but…

"BLOODY HELL, I THOUGHT WE WERE ALL MATURE ADULTS AND COULD HANDLE THESE MEMORIES PROFESSIONALLY! BUT IT LOOKS LIKE YOU CAN'T! I DIDN'T CRY AND I'M THE ONE WHO WENT THROUGH ALL THIS, I'M THE ONE WHO SUFFERED FOR YOU ALL AND NOW I GET THE SILENT TREATMENT. THIS IS SO UNFAIR."

Ginny ran up the stairs and slammed her door. This family could be so unpredictable. They wanted to hear her stories but they get shocked when they hear them. What a plot twist. But there was only one opinion she cared about and that was lodged in the brain of one of the paralyzed men downstairs. Harry.


	32. Chapter 32

**A/N: Thanks for all the positive feedback from everyone. Everytime someone follows me or reviews the story i jump on the computer and start typing away. You guys truly are the greatest! Thanks for reading this far!**

It was Christmas day. Ginny hadn't been downstairs since she entered her bedroom last night without saying anything to her family. She was afraid to go downstairs. She was afraid that they would tell her off. But one thing was for sure, she'd be totally freaked out if they all were in the same places that they were in when she went to bed. She slowly crept down the stairs and into the kitchen to steal some food. Ginny checked the living room quickly to see if they were they're. To her delight no one was in there and they must have all gone to bed.

Ginny set the table with a bowl and a spoon. She decided on a muggle cereal that she had never heard of before. But on the box, it said that there were blueberries and raspberries in it, even if they were dried up, so she decided to give it a try. After setting the milk down on the table, Ginny sat there puzzled. What was she supposed to do? She had both hands on the table while she leaned on it slightly. She gave out a heavy sigh while contemplating which gets poured in the bowl first, the milk or the cereal?

But something hugged her from behind and she jumped a little. She was fully on guard until calmed by a head resting on her shoulder. It was Harry. She took her hand off the table and ran it through his hair.

"Are you okay?" Ginny asked turning around in his grip.

"Am I okay? What about you, are you okay?" Harry let go of her small waste and stepped back a little.

"I've been better, yet again, I've been worse."

"Well, what are you making?" Ginny turned around and looked at the items on the table frustrated.

"I just want a simple bowl of cereal, but I have no clue on how to make it. Which comes first, the milk or the cereal?" Ginny was tapping her foot while she stared at the table.

"It doesn't matter, but I always pour the cereal first then milk." Harry poured some cereal out then poured a little bit of milk.

"They need to put instructions on the bloody box. Thanks, Harry." Harry sat across from her.

"Your welcome." He stared at her for a moment and she knew exactly what he was thinking about.

"Harry, please, don't make me feel even more of an outsider."

"What? No, I'm not trying to, I think everyone's still trying to face the fact that you've seen hell. Worse than anyone else, yet you've been so strong and patient with everyone. If anything, they're guilty…and so am I."

"Why are you guilty? Harry, you didn't do anything wrong." Ginny reached across the table and held his hand.

"For an entire month I sat and moped in my own selfishness, telling myself that I had nothing to live for, but you had seen even worse. I'm the worst boyfriend in history. I hate saying this, but you should have been the one drinking and what not, you had a reason, I didn't."

"No, Harry, the reason I didn't fall into a depression was because I'm not that stupid. You apparently are," Harry snorted, "Anyway, I've never thought about my past. I mean, not since last night. I always told myself that nothing mattered anymore because I was going to die in the end. And when I heard the Carrows the one night saying that…" Ginny decided not to continue that sentence. That part of the story was going to be saved for a later date. Harry could tell that she didn't want to talk about that last part. He decided that he shouldn't push it.

"Gin, you're THE bravest person I've ever met. I'm so proud of you."

"You are?"

"Of course why wouldn't I be?" Ginny's smile faded and Harry was anxious to know why.

"Because I made terrible decisions," Harry's smile faded, "No! Don't worry! It's nothing to do with a boy or a girl or anything romantically. It was my thoughts, my theories."

"Which were what exactly?"

"My plan…was that I would cause the Carrows so much hell that they'd kill me." Ginny let go of Harry's hands and stared at her half eaten cereal.

"Why? Did you seriously want to die?" Harry's eyes were wide with surprise. Why would Ginny want to kill herself? Was it because of Harry breaking up with her?

"Well, I kept having the same dream over and over again. It was the same scenario of you and the other two dying of starvation, or killing each other from madness. And I wanted to join you…" Ginny had one glistening tear fall from her face.

"Ginny, I told you sixth year that I wouldn't leave without a proper goodbye and I'm sticking to that promise for the rest of my life." Ginny was left speechless. She couldn't find the words but 'me too'. So she quickly followed her heart.

"I think I can keep that promise too." Harry chuckled.

"So, are you mad?" Ginny squinted her eyes in confusion, "With everyone, after you ran upstairs everyone thought you were mad at us. It was really that we had no idea what to say. I mean, it's hard to take in that one person could go through so much and still be strong."

"I'm not mad, just a little embarrassed. Now do you understand why I never wanted to tell anyone? I wanted to keep it a secret from everyone but thanks to Neville, I couldn't."

"How did Neville get you to talk?"

"Well, he told Hermione a detailed outline of last year, and she pressured me to talk. And then I decided that I shouldn't keep everything from my family."

"Ginny, I know your going to bend what you say. You said that you were going to keep 'everything' from us but you never said that you were going tell us everything. But if you want to keep things in the past, I won't mind. Hermione, Ron and I are keeping a few things in the past. I mean, until we are ready to talk about it. Well, it was really between me and Ron and then Hermione got caught in the middle of it, but, I'm not telling anyone what happened."

"Let me guess, you guys got in a fight."

"Yeah…" Harry drifted into a daze as he recalled the night when Ron left Hermione and him while on the run.

"Thanks for valuing my opinion, Harry."

"Well, that's what good boyfriends do. Anyway, Merry Christmas, Ginny."

"Oh my god. I forgot that today is Christmas!"

"I think everyone did, Gin." That didn't change Ginny's worry.

"No, Harry, you didn't." Harry just shrugged it off. "Where's everybody?"

"Asleep, why?"

"Well, usually they're up before me on Christmas."

"Well, we stayed in the living room for awhile after you went upstairs. I don't know what time I went to bed. I tried hard to listen for any sounds coming from the hallway because I was afraid you were going to leave again."

"I was afraid I would too."

* * *

The family was gathered around the Christmas tree later that morning. They were accompanied by Andromeda and Teddy. Harry had been in charge of Teddy every other weekend since he was still only eighteen. Teddy was always happy when he was with Harry. He liked it when Harry shot multi-colored sparks from his wand. The presents had come around and were opened. Everyone was spending their time telling stories of their childhood Christmases.

"Harry. What about you?" Hermione asked.

"What about me?" He knew Hermione was oblivious to the fact he was an abused child; she thought that he just hated it there.

"Tell us a story about one of your Christmas's in a muggle family." Arthur said enthusiastic. He was always intrigued by the muggle world.

"Um, er,…I guess I had one….I was in my…room…and I was eating as much…um….Christmas cookies as I could for my….um natural size…" Harry stuttered as he made up his story.

"I don't think that's true." Ron said simply. "You always show you're lying or nervous when you stutter like that. I think he's a bit of both." Harry just glared at Ron.

"Guys, obviously Harry doesn't want to talk about it so just let him be." Ginny said loudly and holding Harry's hand. He nodded appreciably to her. No one spoke but you could tell that they didn't want to drop it.

"Well, how about a nice Christmas supper?" Molly said before walking to the kitchen. Everyone was still silent. No one knew how to make a conversation.

* * *

It was the last day of winter break and Ginny was far from happy. All she wanted to do was to stay there with Harry and her family. But her mum wouldn't let her. She was staying with Harry in his flat for the day and she didn't want to be disturbed by outsiders. All she wanted to do was spend the day with her love.

"So, Ginny, what do you want to do?" Harry asked. They were both sitting on the couch but Ginny was snuggled up in Harry's side.

"I don't care. I just want to be with you." Harry snorted.

"Your going to leave this decision with me? You know that I'm terrible with making decisions. Once, while you were at Hogwarts, I went to the market and couldn't choose between two cucumbers because one was riper than the other, but the other was cheaper." Ginny chuckled at Harry's patheticness.

"So which one did you choose?" Harry looked down at her smiling.

"I bought both of them. And then I never ate them and they rotted." Ginny rolled her eyes.

"So, you went through the trouble of choosing a cucumber that you weren't going to eat." Harry turned a little red.

"No, I saw this really cool meal on the television and I wanted to try to make it. But then, when I got home, I didn't want to make it anymore."

"Lazy arse."

"I think I knew that I couldn't make it as good as your mum probably could, so I just gave up on it. It was a little strange looking."

"That's why I'll be the one to cook in this relationship." Harry giggled at Ginny.

"That is perfectly fine with me. I can make a killer breakfast though."

"Harry, cereal isn't a killer breakfast." Harry's smile faded a minute then returned.

"No! I can also make scrambled eggs and bacon. I learned how to way back when I was six…" Harry's smile faded completely and he looked away from Ginny.

"Six? As in years? As in you were cooking on a stove when you were six years old?" Harry nodded slowly but kept his eyes away from her. "Harry, you can't avoid me forever. You can always talk to me." Harry looked back at her, his eyes a little watery.

"I already told you I was abused as a child."

"You told me where you slept at night. You said nothing about cooking or cleaning."

"I cooked fine and that house was usually spotless. Done."

"But what if you burned yourself?" Harry snorted.

"Well, unlike you, Gin, I learned quickly after one burn. My lesson was learned."

"But if they were just going to be cruel to you, why didn't they send you to an orphanage?"

"Because Dumbledore scared them into keeping me. But I sometimes wish he didn't." Harry shrugged than changed the subject. "I wish you weren't going to school tomorrow."

"So do I. I mean, Hogwarts is brilliant as usual but, I hate it without you."

"It can't be any different than before we were dating."

"No, it is different because even though we weren't dating, you were still there. You know…eye candy," Harry laughed a little, "But now I don't even get that. And then you decided to finally give me a second look and of course we get separated. It's just my luck." Harry's arm was still around her shoulders and he was still looking into her eyes.

"No, Gin, it's my luck. Think about it. Where ever I go bad things happen. That's why I'm so surprised you still want to be with me."

"Harry, I've wanted to get with you since I was eleven. You should know that it means something if I stuck around five years to be with you and then waited for you to get back and still wanted to be with you."

"I guess, you're right, as always. Anyways have you thought about what you're doing after Hogwarts since we talked about it last?"

"Yes, I did. I mean I have different plans for different scenarios. But I think most of them are based on the same mind set as before."

"That mind set was?"

"Move out of the Burrow. I love Mum and Dad of course, it's just I don't want to spend the rest of my life living there. With Charlie and I both leaving tomorrow, no one will live here with them. But I'm positive that Ron and George will stop by every so often because they can't make a decent dinner for themselves."

"Yeah, I ate dinner at Ron's flat one night. Not the best food. I ended up stopping at some muggle restaurant for an after meal that was decent."

"I feel bad for Hermione. When they get married she'll have to cook all three meals. I would only have to cook two." Harry smiled at her.

"That's if you want the same thing every morning. I can make eggs, bacon, sausages and pancakes because that's all the Dursleys would eat."

"That'll be fine for me. I won't have to get up in the mornings." Harry bent down and kissed her lips hard. The parted but were still centimeters away.

"You know, you just told me that you want to marry me." Harry whispered and Ginny smiled a little.

"Now it's up to you to get the ring."

"I thought I told you, I suck when it comes to this stuff."

"Not this stuff though." She now was the kisser. They kissed for a long time only parting to catch a breath every so often. But Ginny was the one to part it completely. "You never told me if you felt the same you know." Even though it was a serious statement she was still smiling.

"That kiss didn't mean anything? How about I put it in words, great minds think alike." Ginny's smile grew larger and she set the mug that was in one of her hands down on the table. She wrapped her arms around his neck and played with his hair.

"Well, if great minds think alike, then what am I thinking right now?"

"That you're dying to kiss me again. And you can't wait until you're out of Hogwarts so that we can pass kisses."

"Wow for once your spot on." They smashed their lips together once more. They really did love each other. _And 'til death do us part, _Ginny thought to herself. She pulled away and stared back into those incredible eyes.

"Hey, we're not dead, why did you part?" Ginny gasped.

"Can you read my mind?" Harry snorted then brushed a stray strand of hair out of her face.

"No, it's just, Great minds think alike."

"Alright, Ginny, you have all of your books, and all of your clothes?" Molly asked again on Platform 9 ¾.

"For the last time, Mum, yes. I have everything." Molly kissed her daughters cheek and stepped back.

"Don't cause trouble. That's the last thing I want to hear happen about you." Arthur said giving his daughter a fleeting hug.

"I won't. I promise." Ginny said back rolling her eyes.

"Take care of yourself, kid." Charlie said patting her shoulder.

"I'm not a kid, Charlie."

"I forgot what the Hogwarts bathrooms look like. Send me a blasted toilet seat, will you?" George said hugging his little sister.

"Will do, George, will do."

"Don't be taking any of that potion Luna gives you to get rid of Narghals. Even though she's a good friend, that stuff creeps me out." Ron said after hugging goodbye to his girlfriend.

"I'll dump it down the drain." Ginny hugged her brother then turned to her boyfriend.

"I'm going to miss you." Harry hugged her quickly.

"I'm going to miss you too. But don't worry I'll write to you. And I'll try not to get killed."

"Wow, thanks for the reassurance." Harry shrugged. Ginny went up on her toes and went to his ear.

"I love you, Harry." He looked back at her as she went back onto her flat feet.

"I love you too." But their moment was interrupted by Molly bursting into tears.

"Did you hear that, Arthur? Did you hear what Harry said? You two are perfect for each other!" Harry blushed.

"Mum." Ginny said in a your-embarrassing-me-and-might-ruin-this tone.

"Don't worry Gin, I don't mind at all." Harry give her one last hug and she boarded the train.

**A/N: CAUTION the story might end in the range of one to three chapters. I'll add an author note at the end on how to get to my next story in the series. Thank you so much for everything. I'm so blessed to even get views on my story! Also occasionally I've been writing some one-shots, but I've started another story that doesn't particularly link with this one. It's a time travel story with the next generation. I wanted to do one for a long time. If you want to check it out it's called "to make life more complicated" Let me tell you it's not your average time travel story. Anyway, please review this chapter and sorry for a long author's note. :)**


	33. Chapter 33

Two months later…

_Dear Harry,_

_Valentine's Day is coming up and Hogwarts couldn't possibly get more unbearable. All I see are couples snogging in the corridors and then there's Hermione and I who are awkwardly trying to pass it all. Plus, Slughorn invited us to the Valentine's Day Ball for Slug Club members only. Hermione and I are again going to be the awkward ones with no one to spend it with. If only you were here with us. Actually, I wish both of you two were here with us so that Ronald can keep Hermione busy. DID YOU JUST SEE WHAT I WROTE? Ronald? I'm calling him Ronald. That's a Hermione thing! Hopefully your Valentines Day is going okay. I just can't wait for the stupid holiday to be over with. But, I'm expecting you to make it up for me next year. _

_Love,_

_Ginny Weasley._

_Dear Ginny,_

_I'm sorry to hear your suffering through the holiday. If you think you got it worse think again. I've officially claimed that Robinson has gone mad. He dresses in pink auror robes every morning. I didn't even think that they came in pink! And then he just throws chocolates into everyone's cubicle. He's acting like he's bloody cupid too. He made two other aurors get together and eat dinner…alone. Worst part is that they're both boys…see what I mean by mad? I asked around and apparently he's like this every Valentine's Day but, no one knows why. I think it's because he is supposed to be apart of a mental institution, but Ron thinks that he's somehow taken some of Luna's Wrackspurts potion. But I don't think he knows Luna maybe he knows Rolf. Have fun at Slughorn's party. I am so glad I don't need to attend any of those anymore. Yet I think what ruined them for me was the fact that you were always dressed perfectly and I couldn't come near you without making a fool of myself. I know you're laughing at me right now but it's true. Have fun with Valentine's Day._

_Love,_

_Harry James Potter_

_Auror_

Another Two Months Later…

_Dear Harry,_

_I hate how we're not allowed to come home for Easter as a seventh year. This is when the big review comes out for our stupid exams. The exams that I don't even think are worth my time. I wish I was you and just blow off school, but that's what I get with having an overprotective mother. I told McGonagall that I wanted to become a professional Quidditch player but she told me that it's safe to have an educational background in case I become injured of some sort or when I get too old to play. But Gwenog Jones is pretty old and she's still playing for the Holyhead Harpies. I just don't get it. You better send me a Chocolate Easter egg. I don't think I'll make it without one. Not that the house elves are doing badly, but I miss the things Mum makes us. Like the chocolate eggs and her Treacle tart. She puts extra sugar in it and Hogwarts puts a bit less so the kids don't get too pudgy. Which I totally agree with them. Some of the first years are a little bit on the Chubby Bunny side. Anyway, you enjoy your holiday off. I'll just sit here and mope about how I'm spending my usual Easter break time studying and cramming useless information in my mind, let the grey hairs start growing out of my hair and let the bags start to form under my eyes. I just had to fluff my pillow for a moment…I wonder why…Oh WAIT, I know why. It's because it's not my pillow from the Burrow. Can my life get any worse?_

_Love,_

_Ginny Weasley._

_Dear Ginny, _

_Read this letter before you open the package attached. You said you're having trouble at school so I decided to give this to you. Maybe you can cross one thing off your stress list._

_Love,_

_Harry James Potter_

_Auror_

Ginny placed the letter down on the table and slowly unwrapped the package. There it was; her pillow from the Burrow.

_Dear Harry,_

_Very funny._

_Love,_

_Ginny Weasley._

The last week of school…

_Dear Harry,_

_I can't believe that this is my last week of school. The exams are over but I still have the nervous feeling in my chest. I think I know why though. It's all coming to a close. A huge chapter of my life is closing. I wish it wasn't but it is. I won't be able to return here like I always do. September first will just turn into another day. I mean, I wish it lasted longer. Then again, I wish it hadn't. Let's think, my first year sucked because of the diary. My second year was okay. I didn't have many friends once word got out that the drama of the year before was my fault. Third year was nerve racking because I thought that you were most definitely going to die. Fourth year was hard because I watched you snog Cho, and I let Hermione talk me into forgetting about you. Fifth year started out bad then turned out to be the best. I started out with the worst possible boyfriend imaginable but luckily for me that's what finally made you open your eyes. But I have to admit, with every good thing comes a bad and you dumped me at Dumbledore's funeral. This also sucked because that was the first time I was the dumpy and not the dumper. I know, I know, selfish. Then sixth year…I'm not even going to elaborate on that. And then this year stunk because you weren't here with me and I was the one who had to follow Hermione's study schedule. I still don't know how Ron and you did it for six years. I just barely made it through a year, and I'm usually a good student. Slughorn talked to Gwenog Jones and she wants to have a one on one session with me two weeks after I get out of this place. AS IN SHE WANTS TO SEE ME! This could be life changing, Harry! But while my excitement brews my sadness appears. I'm not sure if I'm ready to be the grown up in situations. I'm not sure if I truly am ready to take care of myself. And it's not even money that's a problem, it's everything else. I guess you had thoughts like these after you decided not to return to Hogwarts. I'm happy I get to see you but, not leave you again. I'm excited that I'll be there twenty four seven and not miss a single one of George's jokes, Percy's clever arguments, Ron's complaint for food, Mum's nags about sitting up, Dad's scolds for language, the Ghoul's groans, Hermione's nags about me not studying, Your kisses. I can't wait to see you. Keep Pig with you. They told us to send one letter and not have any replies that way they won't have to track down owners of owls. This week will go by fast yet slowly and I'll miss you throughout it but, for the time being, let me just make it through. _

_Love, _

_Ginny Weasley._

**A/N: And it's done. I hope you liked the story. This was my first story to my nineteen years series. The next story will be called As Time Flies By. It will be the next course of life for Harry and Ginny. Not to forget Ron and Hermione of course. Thank you to all the readers and followers to this story. Without you, i don't think this story would have made it this far. You all should take part of the credit! Please review this story! I'm starting on the next right now! But, for the time being, HinnyandRomione4ever is signing off. :)**


	34. Chapter 34

Just so I make it clear to everyone. I understand if you skipped over my author notes, (i do it too). But this story is being continued under another title! This is how you can find it!

At the top of the sight there should be a search box thing.

Type in "As Time Flies By"

Then go to narrow results, click "books"

Click "Harry Potter"

Click "Harry P."

Click "Ginny W."

Click "Romance"

click "Drama"

Click "In Progress" and if you can't find it under in progress that means I finished it already so...

or you can go to my profile and find it under my stories! Just wanted to make sure everyone found out how to get to the continuation.

These books are a series. Thank you for reading For The Time Being and if your considering reading As The Time Flies then thank you for being so supportive. I never knew that i'd actually start writing more than one story! Thank you to everyone, even the ones who didn't like my story and told me how to make it better. Your truly are important to me! 3

~HinnyandRomione4ever


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